The key elements of the AcSB’s Strategic Plan considered for this annual plan are summarized below:

Overarching strategic goal - Retain separate strategies for each category of reporting entity in Canada’s private sector

Publicly accountable enterprises - Support the application in Canada of IFRSs

• Influence future international standards by maintaining and leveraging Canada's strong reputation internationally.
• Stakeholders apply new and existing IFRSs effectively.
• Differences in global standards are narrowed, including alignment of adoption dates for new IFRSs.

Private enterprises - Retain and improve the standards in Part II

• Part II contains a high-quality set of standards that:
  • produces decision-useful information;
  • is complete; and
  • supports the exercise of professional judgment while providing sufficient guidance to result in consistent application.
• Private enterprises apply new and existing standards effectively.

NFPOs - Retain and improve the standards in Part III

• Improvements to the Part III standards consider stakeholder input and the unique needs of NFPOs.
• The needs of NFPOs are met following changes made to ASPE.

Pension plans - Retain the standards in Part IV

• Part IV standards meet the needs of this sector.

Review the Annual Plan on the AcSB's Web site.

Bob Laux is a financial reporting guru. A couple of years ago, at a panel event in Los Angeles he surprised everyone by saying he was "disgusted" at the state of the accounting profession. He was saying it for effect. But he needed to shout loudly to draw his audience’s attention to his view that financial reporting in the US had become a rolling mass of infrastructure, which didn’t really serve its users very well.

And when we talked recently, he talked about how "discouraged" he was by his profession, the accounting profession. "We are a great profession but we can do better", he said. "In the US we have periodic reporting, the 10Qs and 10Ks, and a tremendous amount of effort is put into those documents. There is a lot of infrastructure and controls on top of them. It is a huge infrastructure. It is rules. It is a lot of disclosure, documents which run to well over a hundred pages that I don’t think too many people are reading and may be not their first source for investing".

So how could he combat this massive obstacle? His answer is that "we are just going to have to be smart about it". And that, for Laux, means integrated reporting, reporting based on the different capitals which underpin value creation of a company. "We have been talking about this type of reporting for over two decades now. We have come a long way. But now is the time for action".

Read the entire column on our Global IAS Plus site.

This is the sixth in a series of webcasts that the International Accounting Standards Board is providing to support the implementation of IFRS 16.

In this webcast, the IASB staff discuss the modification requirements in IFRS 16 and questions received from those currently implementing the new Standard.

Review the press release and the webcast on the IASB's website.

The changes made to Part I to incorporate new or amended IFRSs issued by the IASB include:

• IFRS 2, Share-based Payment (amendments regarding classification and measurement of share-based payment transactions)
• IFRS 10, Consolidated Financial Statements and IAS 28, Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures (amendments regarding the effective date of amendments to IFRS 10 and IAS 28)
• IFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (amendments regarding the effective date of IFRS 15)
• IFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (amendments regarding clarifications to IFRS 15)
• IFRS 16, Leases (new)
• IAS 7, Statement of Cash Flows (amendments regarding disclosure initiative)
• IAS 12, Income Taxes (amendments regarding recognition of deferred tax assets for unrealized losses)

Review the document on the AcSB's website.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since the last update in February 2017.

Research projects

• Disclosure initiative: Principles of Disclosure — the discussion paper is now expected in March (which, given the month is almost over, translates into "next week")

Standard-setting and related projects

• Disclosure initiative: Materiality (practice statement) — the expected publication of the practice statement has moved forward and is now given as June 2017
• Disclosure initiative: Materiality (amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8) — the expected publication of proposed amendments has also moved to June 2017

Nar­row-scope amend­ments

• Improvements to IFRS 8 resulting from the post-implementation review of IFRS 8 — no change in timing, but the expected publication of an exposure draft in March also means it will be published next week

Interpretations

• IAS 12 — Accounting for uncertainties in income taxes — the expected publication of a final interpretation has moved forward and is now given as June 2017

Post-implementation reviews

• Post-implementation review of IFRS 13 — the expected publication of a request for information has moved forward and is now given as May 2017

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

Their objective was to see if they can identify systematic differences across firms that would help explain the financial statement placement order employed. They identified a sample of 400 public companies drawn from four different revenue quartiles. In addition to financial data for each firm, they identified the sector in which each firm operates and the firm’s auditor.

They found that the balance sheet is much more likely to be the lead-in financial statement. Of the 400 companies in the sample, 272 (68.00%) present the balance sheet first while 127 (31.75%) present the statement of operations (income statement) first. In examining the factors that may drive the lead-in financial statement decision, they noted that firms leading with the statement of operations are larger based on revenue and total assets. Further, they are more profitable, reporting a higher return on equity and higher net margin.

Their asset turnover and operating cash margin are also higher. Finally, likely attesting to their larger size and debt service capacity, the firms leading with the statement of operations also report higher financial leverage.

Review the full report on the Georgia Tech's website.

Some of the key features of the budget plan were:

• The government has introduced the “Innovation and Skills Plan” which will target six key areas: advanced manufacturing, agri-food, clean technology, digital industries, health/bio-sciences and clean resources.
• The budget proposes a number of additional programs to support innovation and to foster growth in the clean technology sector.
• The government has indicated its intention to close loopholes that result in unfair tax advantages for some at the expense of others. Furthermore, the budget proposes to invest an additional $523.9 million over five years to build on previous investments to 2 support the Canada Revenue Agency’s efforts to prevent tax evasion and improve tax compliance.

A summary of the economic and tax highlights contained in the budget is outlined in our Canadian tax alert.

For further details, we refer you to the Department of Finance website.

The project will gather information on the current state of climate change disclosure in Canada and internationally, and will include consultation with investors and reporting issuers.

Reporting issuers in Canada are currently required to disclose material risks, which may include risks associated with climate change, among other environmental matters, in their periodic disclosure.

CSA Staff intend to review disclosure prepared by large TSX-listed reporting issuers on the material risks and financial impacts associated with climate change as well as related governance processes.

Review the press release on the CSA's website.

Carl Allegretti, Canadian Tax Leader, will introduce our speakers and Fatima Laher, Tax partner and Clients & Industries Leader will be hosting the session.

Jonathan Traub, Managing Principal, Tax Policy, Deloitte US, will share perspectives on current legislation, including tax impacts, due to the recent US presidential election.

Joel Guberman, Chair and founding partner of Guberman Garson LLP, an independent immigration law firm allied with Deloitte LLP, will provide insights on the recent immigration executive order.

Mark your calendars and register for this webcast.

More information about this event.

The advisory is in response to the September 2016 International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) approved amendment to IFRS 4, Insurance Contracts, allowing companies whose activities are predominantly connected with insurance to defer the application of IFRS 9, Financial Instruments, until January 1, 2021.

Review the advisory on the OSFI's website.