CETA has attracted much attention, with warnings from environmental NGOs that the deal could lead to a weakening of environmental, health and social protection standards.

The CETA trade deal will remove tariffs on most traded goods and services. It also provides for the mutual recognition of certification for a wide range of products.

In negotiations, the EU secured protection for over 140 European geographical indications for food and drinks sold on the Canadian market. Sustainable development provisions were included to maintain environmental and social standards and ensure that trade and investment enhance both.

Review the article on the EU Business' website.

The topics covered during the meeting included:

• Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting
• Country-by-country reporting
• IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement—Post -implementation Review
• Rate-regulated Activities
• Disclosure Initiative
• Digital currency
• Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity
• Insurance Contracts project
• Update by ASAF members on activities
• Project updates and agenda planning

A full summary of the meeting is available on the IASB's website.

The outcome of the first phase is a new structure and drafting convention, as well as a major restructured portion of the Code. The IESBA now enters the final stage of this project. Comprised of three Exposure Drafts (EDs), this final stage sets out new proposals that:

• Restructure select sections of the Code, including recently finalized provisions addressing accountants’ response to non-compliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR), long association of audit firm personnel with an audit or assurance client, and ethical issues that professional accountants in business (PAIBs) often face (Structure ED-2);
• Revise the safeguards-related provisions in the independence sections of the Code pertaining to non-assurance services provided to audit and other assurance clients (Safeguards ED-2); and
• Clarify the applicability of PAIB provisions to professional accountants in public practice (Applicability ED).

Comments on Safeguards ED-2 and the Applicability ED are requested by April 25, 2017. Comments on Structure ED-2 are requested by May 25, 2017.

Review the press release on the IESBA's website.

The first paper sheds light on investor uses, expectations, and concerns on non-GAAP financial measures. It establishes that company-reported non-GAAP financial measures are useful for investors who apply them for varied reasons, but who also make further adjustments including reversing questionable adjustments. The paper also shows that investors have concerns around the communication, consistency, comparability across periods and similar companies, and transparency of non-GAAP financial measures.

The second paper builds on the first one and articulates actions required to improve the communication of these measures and enhance the overall performance reporting framework. For instance, the investors surveyed believe that securities regulators have a vital role in imposing discipline around the reporting of non-GAAP financial measures. And they are of the view that concerns around non-GAAP financial measures should serve as a catalyst for the IASB and the FASB to enhance their primary financial statements’ presentation and classification requirements, including defining key subtotals.

Both papers can be downloaded from the CFA Institute's website:

• Investor Uses, Expectations and Concerns on Non-GAAP Financial Measures
• Bridging the Gap: Ensuring Effective Non-GAAP and Performance Reporting

The topics discussed at the meeting included:

• IASB and Interpretations Committee Update
• Post-implementation Review of IFRS 13, Fair Value Measurement
• Education Initiative commercial publications
• Definition of a business

Review the full meeting summary on the IASB's website.

In the letter, Susan S. Coffey, CPA, CGMA, the Association’s executive vice president for public practice, noted that it while it is well understood that it is impossible to guarantee the prevention of a cybersecurity breach, this framework “will enable companies to demonstrate and communicate due diligence and due care in their management of cybersecurity risk in a consistent manner, serving the needs of multiple stakeholders with a single approach.”

Review the press release and the comment letter on the AICPA's website.

A separate summary is provided for each type of reporting entity, as follows:

The articles includes:

• Effective Dates – International Financial Reporting Standards
• Effective Dates – Private Enterprises
• Effective Dates – Private Sector Not-for-Profit Organizations

Review the article on the AcSB's website.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since the last update in December 2016.

Research projects

• Disclosure initiative: Principles of Disclosure — the long awaited discussion paper is now expected in April.

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 "within 6 months".
• Insurance contracts — the expected issuance of the IFRS has been delayed to May since the fatal flaw review revealed some small issues that the staff wants to lay before the Board before finalizing the draft.

Nar­row-scope amend­ments

• Improvements to IFRS 8 resulting from the post-implementation review of IFRS 8 — the expected publication of an exposure draft is now expected in April.
• Symmetric prepayment options — following yesterday's decision to take a related project onto the agenda, the IASB now announces that it expects to publish an exposure draft on the issue in April.
• Annual improvements to IFRSs 2015-2017 — following the publication of an exposure draft of proposed amendments earlier this month, the project is now marked as being in consultation phase with a decision on the project direction expected "within 6 months".

Post-implementation reviews

• After the IASB has decided to move forward with a post-implementation review of IFRS 13, it now announces that it expects to issue a request for information "within 6 months".

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

The notice reports the findings of a review announced by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in Staff Notice 11-332 Cyber Security (Staff Notice 11-332) and provides disclosure expectations for reporting issuers based on those findings.

Review the press release and the Staff Notice on the CSA's website.

The project will look into whether a narrow-scope exception could be made to allow instruments with symmetric prepayment options to qualify for amortized cost or fair value through other comprehensive income measurement because they would otherwise fail the SPPI condition.

Review a summary of the agenda paper released by our Global firm.