IASB Meeting — 12–14 March 2019

Start date:

End date:

Location: London

IASB (International Accounting Standards Board)

Overview

The IASB met in London on 12–14 March 2019.

The Board considered the remaining topics in its review of concerns raised by stakeholders in relation to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts: credit cards that provide insurance cover; transition requirements—risk mitigation option; implications for disclosure; and transition requirements. The Board decided to propose changes be made to IFRS 17 and IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. The Board will consider the package of amendments as a whole in its April 2019 meeting.

The Board decided to proceed to publish an Exposure Draft (in April or May) with proposed amendments to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement to address the uncertainty introduced by IBOR reformThe Board also decided that application of the relief should be mandatory and irrevocable.

Because this is an urgent matter, the comment period would be 45 days.

As part of the Disclosure Initiative the Board decided to add two examples to the Materiality Practice Statement to help those preparing financial statements avoid explaining their accounting polices using boilerplate or generic descriptions or simply repeating the requirements of IFRS Standards.

The Board discussed two remaining issues in relation to the Exposure Draft Classification of Liabilities (as current or non-current). The Board decided to make some refinements to the proposal in relation to classification of liabilities with equity-settlement features and classification of loans for which the right to defer settlement is subject to lending conditions that will not be tested until after the end of the reporting period.

The Board continued its discussions of Business Combinations under Common Control by considering whether to develop a current value approach for all or some transactions that affect non-controlling interest (NCI) in the receiving entity (discussed in the December 2018 Agenda Paper 23) and a different approach, such as a predecessor approach, for transactions that affect lenders and other creditors in the receiving entity but do not affect NCI. No decisions were made. .

In the Primary Financial Statements project the Board decided to require the separate presentation of several items in the primary financial statements (such as, in the statement of financial position, goodwill and investment in “integral” and “non-integral” associates and joint ventures accounted for using the equity method). However, they decided that entities not be required to present amortisation, depreciation and research and development expenditure in the statement(s) of financial performance. They also decided that entities be required to provide information about unusual items presented in the statement(s) of financial performance.

The staff gave an overview of the feedback it has analysed in relation to the Discussion Paper on Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity.

The 2015 Agenda Consultation led to a project to consider whether subsidiaries that are SMEs should be permitted to apply IFRS standards with reduced disclosures. The Board discussed the objective of the project.

The Board discussed progress in the Extractive Activities project, setting out the more significant developments in extractive activities since the publication of a Discussion Paper by the IASB in 2010. 

The Board discussed whether in reviewing and revising the IFRS for SMEs Standard, that it should continue to be aligned with full IFRS Standards. This would mean updating the IFRS for SMEs Standard for new and amended IFRS Standards, while considering whether the changes to IFRS Standards are relevant to SMEs, if the requirements should be simplified.  

Agenda for the meeting

Tuesday 12 March 2019 (15:00-17:15)

  • Classification of liabilities as current or non-current (amendments to IAS 1)
    • Liabilities with equity-settlement features
    • Lending conditions tested after the reporting period
  • SMEs that are subsidiaries — Project update
  • SME Standard review and update — Relationship between the IFRS for SMEs Standard and full IFRS Standards

    Wednesday 13 March 2019 (10:30-16:30)

    • Financial instruments with characteristics of equity — Key themes emerging from feedback
    • Business combinations under common control
      • Overview of the staff's approach
      • Lenders and other creditors in BCUCC
    • Extractive activities — Feedback summary
    • Primary financial statements
      • Additional proposals on minimum line items
      • Unusual items

    Thursday 14 March 2019 (09:30-13:30)

    • Amendments to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts
      • Level of aggregation
      • Credit cards that provide insurance coverage
      • Transition requirements
      • Amendments to disclosure requirements resulting from the Board's tentative decisions to date
      • Implications for disclosure and transition requirements
    • Disclosure initiative
      • Due process steps
    • IBOR reform and the effects on financial reporting
      • Voluntary application and end of relief
      • Due process steps

    Agenda papers for this meeting are available on the IASB's website.

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