The Independent Review Committee on Standard Setting in Canada recommended that an effectiveness review be conducted with the assistance of an independent third party to help streamline and harmonize oversight activities and processes. In response to the results, the Effectiveness Review Joint Taskforce and the current oversight councils approved that a single council be created to oversee standard setting for accounting, audit and assurance, and sustainability.  

This decision consolidates the activities of three oversight bodies – the Auditing and Assurance Standards Oversight Council (AASOC), Accounting Standards Oversight Council (AcSOC), and the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) Implementation Committee – streamlining the processes and activities for accounting, audit, assurance, and sustainability standard setting.

The Oversight Council is effective from April 1, 2024, and will focus its initial work on establishing its operations and governance processes. It will begin its formal oversight work on July 1, 2024. The current oversight bodies will conclude their operations on June 30, 2024.

Access the press release on the FRASCanada website.

The Independent Review Committee on Standard Setting in Canada recommended that an effectiveness review be conducted with the assistance of an independent third party to help streamline and harmonize oversight activities and processes. In response to the results, the Effectiveness Review Joint Taskforce and the current oversight councils approved that a single council be created to oversee standard setting for accounting, audit and assurance, and sustainability.  

This decision consolidates the activities of three oversight bodies – the Auditing and Assurance Standards Oversight Council (AASOC), Accounting Standards Oversight Council (AcSOC), and the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) Implementation Committee – streamlining the processes and activities for accounting, audit, assurance, and sustainability standard setting.

The Oversight Council is effective from April 1, 2024, and will focus its initial work on establishing its operations and governance processes. It will begin its formal oversight work on July 1, 2024. The current oversight bodies will conclude their operations on June 30, 2024.

Access the press release on the FRASCanada website.

AcSB developed a framework in the 2023-2024 fiscal year to respond to interested and affected parties needing additional guidance when applying Parts II and III of the Handbook. The AcSB will focus in 2024-2025 on implementing this framework.

AcSB will review its standards (ASPE & IFRS) to improve their relevance for users and address feedback on scalability and emerging issues. They will collaborate with the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to ensure Canadian perspectives are reflected in international standards. To further engage with stakeholders, they are planning to increase the number of in-person events, fostering meaningful discussions on critical accounting issues.

Access the annual plan on the AcSB’s website.

The AcSB expressed overall support for the IASB's proposed disclosure and financial statement presentation requirements in the Exposure Draft. They believe these proposals, which respond to the feedback from the June 2018 Discussion Paper "Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity," will offer more decisive and helpful information to financial statement users about complex financial instruments, thus enhancing comparability.

However, the AcSB believes that IASB's current Exposure Draft should have concentrated solely on disclosures and financial statement presentation as the specific classification and measurement proposals do not fulfill the IASB's objectives for this project. Nonetheless, should the IASB proceed with these classification and measurement proposals, the AcSB recommends additional modifications and clarifications.

Access the comment letter on the IFRS’s website.

The podcast highlights some of the projects that were discussed during the meeting, including:

• climate-related and other uncertainties in the financial statements
• management commentary
• power purchase agreements

The podcast can be accessed here on the IFRS Foundation website

The IASB is soliciting feedback on proposed amendments to IFRS 3 Business Combinations. These amendments would necessitate companies to divulge the objective and associated performance targets of their most significant acquisitions, along with whether these targets are achieved in subsequent years.

Further, companies must furnish details regarding anticipated synergies for all substantial acquisitions. Nevertheless, the proposals ensure that companies need not disclose information that could jeopardize their acquisition objectives. Additionally, the IASB suggests complementary adjustments to IAS 36 Impairment of Assets to refine the impairment test. Interested parties have until July 15, 2024, to provide their comments on the ED.

Access the press release and the Investor Perspectives article on the IASB’s website.

The purpose of the session is to inform academics involved in teaching financial reporting modules on the new requirements in IFRS 18 coming into effect on January 1, 2027. The session also aims to stimulate academic discussion and research that will be useful for the post-implementation review of IFRS 18.

The workshop will be structured in three sections: 1) New defined subtotals in the statement of profit or loss; 2) Requirements for aggregation and disaggregation, and 3) Management-defined performance measures.

Access the registration details on the EAA’s website.

The 2024 IFRS Accounting Taxonomy is consistent with IFRSs issued by the IASB on January 1, 2024, including those issued but still not effective. The 2024 IFRS Taxonomy also incorporates the changes made to the IFRS Taxonomy in 2023, reflecting amended IFRSs and standard reporting practices by companies that apply IFRS Accounting Standards and general taxonomy improvements.

Access the press release on the IFRS’s website.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on February 29, 2024

Standard-setting projects

• Business combinations — Disclosures, goodwill and impairment— Following the publication of the exposure draft on March 14, 2024, the next expected project step is now the discussion of the feedback received expected to begin in H2 2024 
• Financial instruments with characteristics of equity — Discussion of the feedback received on the exposure draft is now expected to begin in May 2024 (previously Q2 2024)

Maintenance projects

• Amendments to the classification and measurement of financial instruments — Final amendments are now expected to be published in May 2024 (previously Q2 2024)

IASB publications expected in March

•  IFRS Accounting Taxonomy Update — Amendments to IAS 12, IAS 21, IAS 7 and IFRS 7— as part of the IFRS Accounting Taxonomy 2024
• IFRS Accounting Taxonomy Update — Common practice (Financial instruments) and general improvements— as part of the IFRS Accounting Taxonomy 2024

The above is a faithful comparison of the IASB and ISSB work plan on 29 February 2024 and 26 March 2024.

For access to the current work plan at any time, please click here.

During the meeting, the IASB explained its reasons for suggesting a shortened comment period:

• IASB added the project on power purchase agreements as an urgent project in July 2023, following requests from stakeholders for a timely solution to the issue. Following the development of a possible solution by the staff, the IASB then discussed the problem at all meetings from December 2023 to March 2024.
• To achieve its objective of providing a timely solution as asked for by stakeholders, the IASB expects to publish an exposure draft in May 2024 and is currently aiming to finalize the amendments in 2024.
• Throughout the project, the IASB did extensive outreach with stakeholders - "shared the sandbox" with them - so stakeholders know what is coming and will only need to comment on technical details.
• The IASB has communicated the status of the project and the progress made throughout the project.
• The proposed changes are narrow-scope amendments affecting particular requirements in IFRS 9 only.
• Implementing the proposed amendments would be manageable for preparers.

The DPOC followed the reasoning of the IASB and only asked a few clarifying questions. It finally agreed to a shortened comment period of 90 days.

Access the agenda paper and the recording of the DPOC meeting on the IASB’s website.