The proposed amendments provide:

• clearer application guidance to help distinguish between a business and a group of assets when applying IFRS 3; and
• clarification on how a company should account for previously held interest in a business, if acquiring control, or joint control, of that business.

The proposed amended application guidance on the definition of a business in IFRS 3 arises from the Board’s Post-implementation Review (PIR) process, which is conducted on each Standard and major amendment approximately two years after their effective dates. The IFRS 3 PIR shows general support for the accounting requirements in the Standard but identifies some areas where further research will be undertaken.

The proposed amendment to accounting for previously held interests was developed through the IFRS Interpretations Committee.

Further information about the Exposure Draft—Definition of a Business and Accounting for Previously Held Interests (Proposed Amendments to IFRS 3 and IFRS 11)—can be accessed on the IASB's Web site. The deadline for comments is October 31, 2016.

Additional information

Please click for:

• IASB press release (link to IASB website)
• Access to the exposure draft on the IASB website
• Our project page on IFRS 3 — Definition of a business
• Our project page on IFRS 3/IFRS 11 — Remeasurement of previously held interests