Innovation in the capital markets is disrupting traditional business models and investor behaviour, revolutionizing how we do business and fundamentally changing how we interact with each other.

Around the world, securities regulators are being challenged to balance innovation with protection of investors and the integrity of the financial system.

Listen to the OSC Dialogue 2016 as senior market leaders and regulators share their insights on disruptive forces in the capital markets and what disruption means for investors, industry and regulators alike.

The presentation of these suggested approaches to stakeholders provided structure for some of the discussions about the scope of the project. The suggested approaches were not presented as solutions researched in detail.

Review the Staff Paper on the IASB's website.

In the Request for Views pubished in August 2015 the Board asked broad questions on the balance of its activities, its research programme, its standard-setting projects, its maintenance activities and implementation support, the level and pace of change, and the frequency of its agenda consultations. The Board received 119 comment letters. Main respondent groups were preparers and industry organizations (31%), standard-setters (23%), and auditors and accounting bodies (22%). 49% of responses were from Europe and and 23% from Asia and Oceania.

Given the responses on the research programme - that research itself was supported but the structure and processes were unclear and that there were too many research projects on the agenda - the Board decided to refocus it research programme. It has abandoned the former categories of long-term and short-term research projects and it does no longer distinguish between the assessment phase of a project and the development phase.

In April and May 2016, the IASB discussed all research projects on the agenda and assessed each of it against the feedback received in the agenda consultation. As a result, the Board decided to:

• retain eight projects on the research programme, including two that were nearing completion, and develop them actively as a priority;
• transfer the remaining four projects to a newly created research pipeline; and
• do no further work on four topics.

The Board also added to its research pipeline a further four topics, newly identified in the 2015 consultation. Projects in the pipeline will not become active immediately, however, when sufficient capacity becomes available, these projects will be taken up. It is expected that work on these projects can be started before the next agenda consultation.

The current situation is:

Please click for the following documents on the IASB's Web site:

• Press release
• Feedback statement
• Short video with an overview of the IASB's key priorities

"Across the markets we serve, TMX has moved to partner with our clients to seek out new solutions and effect positive change," said Nick Thadaney, President & CEO, Global Equity Capital Markets, TMX Group. "We've seen tremendous interest from our equities markets clients in expanding to four character symbols and, with valuable support from other service providers, we have responded to meet their needs. Providing greater choice on our Exchanges remains a top priority for TMX and we look forward to exploring new opportunities to broaden our solutions and services and lead Canada's markets into the future."

Review the press release on the TMX Group's website.

The new definitions will be introduced over the next five years, in order to provide sufficient time for suggestions and comment from market participants. The changes will not result in new standards, but will require the board to overhaul existing ones.

Firms that decide against adopting the new IASB definition for ebit, for example, could be required to reconcile their own ebit calculation into one based on the IASB’s definition.

Review a summary on the Wall Street Journal's website and the IASB's five-year work plan on the IASB's website.

The Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting identified 15 actions to address BEPS in a comprehensive manner. Recognizing that the actions to counter BEPS must be complemented with actions that ensure certainty and predictability for business, Action 14 calls for effective dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve tax treaty-related disputes. The BEPS package endorsed by the G20 Finance Ministers in October 2015 contains the report on Action 14 (Making Dispute Resolution Mechanisms More Effective), which outlines the minimum standards and best practices for resolving treaty-related disputes under the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP).

The documents released form the basis on which this process will be moving forward. The compilation includes the Terms of Reference which translate the minimum standard approved in the final Action 14 report into a basis for peer review; the Assessment Methodology for the peer review and monitoring process and the MAP statistics reporting framework which reflects the collaborative approach competent authorities will take to resolve MAP cases and will ensure greater transparency on statistical information relating to the inventory, types and outcome of MAP cases through common reporting of MAP cases going forward and Guidance on information and documentation to be submitted with a MAP request.

Through rigorous peer reviews and continual collection of data, the Action 14 BEPS deliverables seek to eliminate taxation not in accordance with treaty provisions and help resolve any tax-treaty related disputes in a timely and efficient manner. The involvement of the Inclusive Framework throughout the peer review process ensures that the effort to streamline MAP incorporates the experience of both developing and developed countries. The peer review and monitoring process will be conducted by the FTA MAP Forum, with all members participating on an equal footing.

The review will take place on the basis of the existing treaties and there is no requirement for jurisdictions to negotiate any new treaties. Furthermore, the methodology released contains the possibility for developing countries to defer the peer review, recognizing their capacity constraints and often relatively small MAP pipeline.

Consistent with its efforts to enhance transparency, the OECD will also publish updated MAP profiles of all members of the Inclusive Framework, which contain information about each member's Competent Authorities' contact details, domestic guidelines for MAP and other useful information for both tax authorities and taxpayers. The actual peer reviews will be conducted in batches, with the first batch commencing in December 2016. We will be seeking taxpayer input before the launch of these reviews and a questionnaire for taxpayer input seeking such input will be published shortly, together with a schedule for review.

Review the key documents on the OECD's website.

The implementation of MI 45-108 follows the recent adoption of ASC Rule 45-517 Prospectus Exemption for Start-up Businesses (ASC Rule 45-517), which was introduced to help facilitate Alberta-based small or start-up issuers seeking to raise modest amounts of capital from Alberta investors. MI 45-108 is viewed to be complementary with ASC Rule 45-517 and is designed to accommodate moderate financings being raised strictly through an online funding portal across multiple jurisdictions in Canada.

Review the press release on the ASC's website.