The report, which draws on a range of recent academic research, highlights the positive benefits of adopting Integrated Reporting. According to the report, evidence suggests that Integrated Reporting leads to improved forecasts of future cash flows and valuations.

The discussion on the reputation survey was held in private session. On the other two significant topics, the report — prepared by the Chair of the IFRS Advisory Council, Joanna Perry — notes the following discussions:

• The effect of technology on the future of accounting and corporate reporting — Members of the Council were convinced that massive changes in relation to technology will have an impact upon accounting, corporate reporting and the IFRS Foundation. However, they also thought that there was a clear future role for some form of financial reporting and for some form of principle-based accounting standards and, therefore, for the IFRS Foundation. They noted that stakeholders will need to deal with unstructured data and with judgements being made in a real-time environment in the future and that the IFRS Foundation needs to consider early how to respond to the changes. Members considered that it would be useful to include further sessions on technology on the Council’s future agenda .
• Better communication — Members commended the Board on the publication of the report Better Communication in Financial Reporting and provided various suggestions for both how the Board could promote the document and how Council members (and therefore others) could use the document.

Members also received updates from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, from the IASB Chairman, and on the Trustees’ activities.

Review the full report on the IASB's website.

The five questions discussed include:

1. Will IFRS 17 affect dividend payouts?
2. How can a principle-based Standard like IFRS 17 improve comparability between insurers?
3. Will IFRS 17 bring global comparability to the insurance sector?
4. What are the main differences between IFRS 17, regulatory reporting and embedded value reporting?
5. How will removing insurance premiums from the income statement improve comparability?

Review the article on the IASB’s website.

Here's a summary of staff recommendations:

Definition of finance income/expenses

The staff recommended:

1. using ‘cash and cash equivalents’ as a proxy for cash and temporary investments of excess cash (‘excess cash’) in the definition of finance income/expenses.
2. that finance income/expenses consist of the following five line items:
   1. interest income from cash and cash equivalents calculated using the effective interest method;
   2. other income from cash, cash equivalents and financing activities;
   3. expenses from financing activities;
   4. other finance income; and
   5. other finance expenses. 
3. clarifying the current description of ‘financing activities’ in IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows using the wording recommended to the IFRS Interpretations Committee by the staff in March 2013.  

Better ways to communicate other comprehensive income (OCI)

The staff recommended:

1. renaming the two categories in the OCI section of the statement(s) of financial performance as follows:
   1. ‘remeasurements reported outside profit or loss’ (previously OCI items that will not be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss); and
   2. ‘income and expenses to be included in profit or loss in the future’ (previously OCI items that will be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss).
2. introducing a new subtotal between the two categories called ‘income after remeasurements reported outside profit or loss’.
3. developing investor education material in the form of case studies that illustrate why it is important for users of financial statements to consider items of OCI in their analysis of companies.

Review the agenda papers and listen to the webcast for this meeting on the IASB's website.

Mr. Hespenheide is a familiar figure in the sustainability reporting world, and a long-term contributor to GRI's multi-stakeholder network. He brings a wealth of multi-faceted experience in both financial and non-financial reporting to lead the organization into the next decade. He previously served as Chairman of the GRI Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) and subsequently as the Interim Chief Executive of GRI, where he led the roll-out of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards).

Review the press release on the GRI's website.

While the program adopted by the OSC incentivizes reports of misconduct by offering monetary awards to whistleblowers meeting certain eligibility criteria, the AMF refused to offer financial awards, arguing that the protection of confidentiality – and not the prospect of financial rewards – is what primarily motivates whistleblowers to report incidents. The discrepancy between the two models raised the question of whether payment is the key to a successful whistleblower program.

Review the full article on Stikeman Elliott LLP's website.

The TRG is intended to support implementation by providing a public forum to discuss questions raised on implementation of the new Standard IFRS 17, Insurance Contracts.

The TRG discussed Agenda Paper 1, which included an overview and operating procedures.

Review the meeting summary and podcast on the IASB's website.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on October 27, 2017.

Major projects

• A new project Management commentary (Wider corporate reporting) has been added to the IASB's agenda. The aim of the project is to review and update the Management Commentary Practice Statement issued in 2010 to help address the lack of alignment and integration between wider corporate reporting and financial reporting. The next project step will be an exposure draft, however, the Board is still considering the timetable for the publication of the ED.
• Definition of material - feedback on the ED is now expected in February 2018.

Main­te­nance projects

• Improvements arising from the post-implementation review of IFRS 8 — The feedback received on the ED revealed that respondents had mixed views on the proposals, and Board member views were also mixed. It was suggested during the Board's discussions at the November meeting that if the proposals ended up creating more problems, then the Board should consider not finalizing them. If it was decided to reject only some of the proposals, the staff should then assess the costs and benefits of proceeding with finalizing the remaining proposals. A decision on the project direction is expected in January 2018.

Other projects

• IFRS Taxonomy update for the annual improvements 2017 — new entry added to work plan. A proposed update is expected in November 2017.

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

As technology gets more advanced, it gives auditors a way to visualize financial data and analyze it better. Emerging technologies include the use of drones.

Review the full article on Accounting Today's website.

In a video discussion, FEI Managing Editor Olivia Berkman discusses the evolution of blockchain on financial reporting with Will Bible, Audit & Assurance Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP and Jake Benson, CEO, of Libra, a New York-based blockchain financial reporting start-up.

They discuss how blockchain is being implemented incrementally in financial reporting and right now it's being used in specific applications for business processes, such trading, consortiam, or supply chain management. But blockchain could really have an impact on every single line item on the balance sheet or income statement, because it is a recordkeeping technology. 

View the video on FEI's website.