The first day saw the presentation of five academic papers, followed by a response of an academic and an IASB representative, again followed by a discussion with the audience. The papers included:

• The impact of accounting standards on pension investment decisions
• Gaps in the IFRS Conceptual Framework
• Articulation, profit or loss and OCI in the IASB Conceptual Framework: different shades of clean (or dirty) surplus
• Making Deferred Taxes Relevant
• Introducing More IFRS Principles of Disclosures – Will the Poor Disclosers Improve?

On the second day, IASB staff presented case studies for discussion by the audience. The case studies included:

• Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity Part A - Overview
• Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity Part B - Examples
• What is 'interest' in EBIT?

The topics discussed at the meeting included:

• IASB Update. Members discussed goodwill and impairment, transition resource groups in general, and investor feedback on the post-implementation review of IFRS 13. The IASB staff also provided an update on how GPF members’ feedback on educational materials during the November 2016 meeting was addressed.
• Proposed amendments to IAS 16 on property, plant and equipment. GPF members expressed mixed views on the proposed amendments, with some supporting them and some disagreeing with them. It was questioned whether the benefits from the change would outweigh the costs and it was noted that dealing with such changes would be unwelcome when entities are implementing several new IFRSs.
• Reputation survey. The staff sought feedback from the GPF members on how the IFRS Foundation can improve its engagement with its stakeholders, how the members think the GPF could be better utilised as ambassadors for the Foundation, and how they think the Foundation can improve timeliness without adversely affecting the quality of IFRSs.
• Proposed amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8 regarding materiality. The GPF members generally agreed with the Board’s intention to align and refine the definition of material in IFRSs and the Conceptual Framework, although some GPF members expressed concerns about the practical implications of some proposed changes to the definition.
• Proposed amendments to IAS 8 on accounting policies and accounting estimates. Overall, GPF members tentatively supported the proposals in the exposure draft and said that it would provide clarity on the distinction between accounting policies and accounting estimates. However, some detailed points were raised.

Review the press release and meeting summary on the IASB's website.

The paper states that whilst it is widely acknowledged that transactions with and between members of the same group should not influence the outside appearance of that group and therefore be eliminated, such eliminations do result in a loss of information which is definitely and finally lost for outside users of financial statements. It goes on to note that, furthermore, much of today’s complexity in the environment is not captured in the group’s financial statements although it could highly influence the position, performance and cash flows of the group.

Review the paper on the IASB's website.

The data was compiled from public documents filed on SEDAR and includes the name, industry and year-end of the 660 non-venture issuers with year-ends between December 31, 2016 and March 31, 2017 that filed information circulars or annual information forms by July 31, 2017 as it relates to women on boards and in executive officer positions.

Review the press release and data on the CSA's website.

The Proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update proposes a number of improvements to the IFRS Taxonomy 2017, including:

• enhancements to the data model to support consistent tagging of reporting related to continuing and discontinued operations;
• changes to better reflect the disaggregation of disclosures in IAS 19 Employee Benefits; and
• changes to better reflect disclosures in IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures relating to the initial application of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments.

Review the press release and proposed update on the IASB's website.

By understanding the factors that discourage reporting, the Collaboration offers ways to counter such obstacles and makes recommendations for creating and maintaining a retaliation-free environment.

Review the publication on the Anti-Fraud Collaboration's website.

The three exposure drafts are:

• Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards, Omnibus Statement on Auditing Standards—2018
• Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards, The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Other Information Included in Annual Reports
• Proposed Statements on Auditing Standards, Auditor Reporting and Proposed Amendments―Addressing Disclosures in the Audit of Financial Statements

Review the Exposure Drafts on the AICPA's website.

To find out, the Korn Ferry Institute studied 57 women who have been CEO—38 currently and 19 previously—at Fortune 1000-listed companies and others of similar size. We analyzed structured interviews with all 57 women and the results of psychometric assessments taken by two-thirds of them.

Review the publication on the Korn Ferry Institute's website.

The emergence of digital currencies such as Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain and distribution ledger technology have attracted significant attention. These developments have raised the possibility of considerable impacts on the financial system and perhaps the wider economy.

This paper begins by discussing the possible motivations for a central bank to issue a digital currency. The paper then sets out a benchmark central bank digital currency (CBDC) with features that are similar to cash. The implications of such a digital currency are explored, focusing on central bank seigniorage, monetary policy, the banking system and financial stability, and payments. Finally, a CBDC that differs from the benchmark digital currency in a significant way is considered.

Review the press release and white paper on the Bank of Canada's website.

The board decided to issue an Accounting Standard Update (ASU) that will:

• Provide an optional practical expedient for transition. Organizations that elect the practical expedient would not be required to consider their accounting for existing land easements that are not currently accounted for under FASB ASC Topic 840.
• Clarify that new or modified land easements should be evaluated under Topic 842 (the leases standard) once effective.

In addition, the board decided to issue a proposed ASU with a comment period of 30 days that would add an option for transition to Topic 842 that would enable an organization to not provide comparative period financial statements. Instead, an organization would apply the transition provisions of the lease accounting standard at its effective date.

Review the press release on the FASB's website and an article on the Journal of Accountancy's website.