Overview

As part of the AcSB’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, the AcSB committed to exploring scaling the standards for non-listed entities to better meet different reporting needs.

Scaling the standards (or tiering) may mean providing accounting policy choices, changing disclosure requirements, or even adding new frameworks to the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting (Handbook) to better meet the needs of entities of all sizes, and interested and affected parties.

The AcSB understands that in some circumstances, Part I of the Handbook (IFRS® Accounting Standards) may be too complex or onerous to apply. At the same time, Parts II (accounting standards for private enterprises) or III (accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations) do not sufficiently meet users’ needs. The Board is also aware of smaller private enterprises and NFPOs that consider Parts II and III too complex for their needs and their financial statement users. As a result, the concept that “one size does not fit all” when it comes to the reporting needs of Canadian entities continues, and a scaled approach to financial reporting in Canada is needed.

On March 28, 2023, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) issued a consultation paper entitled “Consultation Paper I - Exploring Scalability in Canada” with an objective to obtain broad input from private enterprise, not-for-profit organization (NFPO), and pension plan stakeholders – including financial statement preparers, users, and practitioners – on current key issues and potential solutions related to scaling the standards. The Consultation Paper closes for comments on July 31, 2023

[Note: The AcSB’s project, Evaluating the Preface, is linked to this project on Scaling the Standards. Both projects are focused on ensuring the diverse landscape of Canadian entities – both reporting and non-reporting – as well as financial statement users are best served by the Preface and current standard-setting frameworks.]

For further details, refer to the project summary on the AcSB website.

Other Developments

March 2023

On March 28, 2023, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) issued its consultation paper entitled “Consultation Paper I - Exploring Scalability in Canada” The comment period closes on July 31, 2023.