Mr Hoogervorst said:

Valuable information gets drowned out by ‘tick the box’ disclosures and voluminous, but poorly organized and presented, financial data. For the investor, it is often difficult to see the woods through the multitude of information trees. We will take a fresh look at how financial information is presented, how it is grouped together, and in what form it is made available.

"Better Communication" will bring together a number of work streams, including:

• Primary Financial Statements—improving the organisation and structure of the ‘face of financial statements’ (statements of financial position, financial performance and cash flows);
• Disclosure Initiative—improving the quality and usefulness of financial disclosures through amendments;
• Financial Instruments with the Characteristics of Equity (FICE)—clarifying the definition, presentation and disclosure requirements for such instruments;
• Digital reporting—further developing the IFRS Taxonomy to ensure it meets electronic reporting needs and remains fit for purpose; and
• Non-financial reporting—assessing strategic challenges and exploring any potential future role that the Board may play in this area.

"Better Communication" as a theme for the Board's work responds to much of the feedback received through the 2015 Agenda Consultation, and should deliver material improvements to users’ ability to make economic decisions from financial information.

Mr Hoogervorst also announced that the Board will be playing a more active role in supporting jurisdictions in the implementation of new and existing IFRS Standards.

Read the full speech on the IASB's Web site.

At Compliance Week’s recent annual conference, a session on the massive new revenue recognition standard was perhaps the most sparsely attended. In an onsite poll of those in the room, more than half said they came from companies that hadn’t yet decided how they would adopt the new standard. That’s a troubling sign that those companies probably hadn’t yet completed even a high-level assessment to determine how they will be affected by the new requirements.

Chris Chiriatti, managing director at Deloitte & Touche says: “The results are somewhat—I wouldn’t say surprising—maybe alarming.”

“It’s an indicator that many companies view this as 18 months from now,” said Eric Knachel, senior consultation partner also with Deloitte. They have other more time-sensitive priorities, perhaps, or limited resources to devote to the effort. He adds that “the next three to nine months will be critical.”

Review the article on (Free Registration Required) Compliance Week's Web site.

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

This issue of Investor Perspective features:

• An examination of capitalization tables;
• A closer look at the IASB's projects on Conceptual Framework and financial instruments with characteristics of equity;
• A solicitation for ideas on "more efficient and effective way for investors and lenders to obtain a comprehensive picture of the rights and obligations created by a company’s liability and equity claims"; and
• Recent resources related to disclosure effectiveness.

For more information, see the June 2016 edition of the Investor Perspectives newsletter on the IASB’s website.

The amendments, which were developed through the IFRS Interpretations Committee, provide requirements on the accounting for:

• the effects of vesting and non-vesting conditions on the measurement of cash-settled share-based payments;
• share-based payment transactions with a net settlement feature for withholding tax obligations; and
• a modification to the terms and conditions of a share-based payment that changes the classification of the transaction from cash-settled to equity-settled.

Companies are required to apply the amendments for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. Earlier application is permitted.

Further information about the amendments—Classification and Measurement of Share-based Payment Transactions (Amendments to IFRS 2)—can be on the IASB's Web site.

The webinar is hosted by the IASB’s senior technical manager Suzanne Morsfield and assistant technical manager Arjuna Dangalla.

For more in­for­ma­tion, see the webinar page on the IASB’s website.

Changes to the work plan include:

Major projects

• No changes made to major projects.

Im­ple­men­ta­tion projects

• Annual Improvements (2015-2017): A decision on the direction of the project is now expected within 3 months.
• Remeasurement at a Plan Amendment, Curtailment or Settlement / Availability of a Refund of a Surplus from a Defined Benefit Plan: A decision on the direction of the project is now expected within 3 months.
• Draft IFRIC Interpretation — Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatment: A decision on the direction of the project is now expected within 3 months.
• Draft IFRIC In­ter­pre­ta­tion — Foreign Currency Trans­ac­tions and Advance Con­sid­er­a­tion: A final interpretation is now expected within 6 months.

In addition, the work plan indicates that the exposure drafts on the definition of a business and on the remeasurement of previously held interests are expected to be released next week.

The revised IASB's work plan is available on the IASB's website.

In the webcast, the IASB staff discuss:

• measurement of lease liabilities
  • lease term
  • variable lease payments
  • in-substance fixed lease payments
  • discount rate
• measurement of right-of-use assets

The new webcast and all previous webcasts of the series are available on the IFRS 16 implementation page on the IASB’s website.

The new revenue recognition standard is causing companies to review compensation arrangements and bonus structures that are based on revenue metrics, said Deloitte & Touche LLP's Eric Knachel, CPA. Knachel said that compensation arrangements are just one example of the broader nonaccounting issues that make it necessary to focus immediately on implementation.

Review the article on the Journal of Accountancy's Web site.