October

Monitoring Board – IFRS Foundation Trustees Meeting

21 Oct, 2010

On Thursday 28 October 2010, the Monitoring Board and IFRS Foundation Trustees will meet in New York.

Topics to be discussed are:
  • Report from the Monitoring Board on recent activities
  • Report from the IFRS Foundation on recent activities
  • Budget 2011 and financing strategy
  • Strategy planning post completion MoU projects

The meeting is taking place between 2:30 - 4:00pm New York time (7:30 - 9:00pm London time) and will be webcast. More information and registration: click here (link to IASB website).

IASB webcast on insurance contracts exposure draft

21 Oct, 2010

On Monday 25 October, IASB member Elke Knig and IASB staff will present a live webcast focusing on reinsurance specific aspects of the recently published exposure draft Insurance Contracts.

There is no charge to attend the web presentation, but you need to register to participate. You can do this now or any time before the presentation. Details of the webcast are as follows:
Topic: Reinsurance specific aspects of the recently published exposure draft on insurance contracts
Date and time: Monday, 25 October 2010, 10:00am and repeated again 3:00pm (UK time)
More information on the webcast and registration: click here (link to IASB website)
More information on IAS Plus: For our agenda project page click here

 

Deadline reminder – EDs on Revenue and Removal of Fixed Dates

21 Oct, 2010

We remind you that comments on the Exposure Drafts Revenue from Contracts with Customers and Removal of Fixed Dates for First-time Adopters are due on 22 October 2010 and 27 October 2010, respectively.

The ED on revenue aims at improving financial reporting of revenue from contracts with customers and related costs. If adopted, the proposal would create a single revenue recognition standard for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) that would be applied across various industries and capital markets.

The ED on fixed dates would amend IFRS 1 by replacing references to a fixed transition date of 1 January 2004' with the date of transition to IFRSs'. As a result, entities adopting IFRSs for the first time would not have to restate derecognition transactions that occurred before the date of transition to IFRSs.

Accounting experts debunk IFRS myths

21 Oct, 2010

CFO.com recently published an article that provides some interesting perspectives on IFRS.

The article identifies seven misconceptions about IFRS, many of which deal with convergence and the adoption of IFRS in the United States. A group of IFRS experts debunk those misconceptions. You can access this article here (link to CFO.com website).

 

UK survey on narrative reporting

20 Oct, 2010

Deloitte (United Kingdom) has released a new publication entitled Swimming in words, the latest annual survey of narrative reporting in the United Kingdom.

The survey analyses the narrative reporting of 130 listed companies, split into two categories, being investment trusts and other companies. It includes a review of:

  • how compliance with the disclosure requirements of the UK Companies Act 2006, the Listing Rules, the Disclosure and Transparency Rules and the Combined Code varied
  • the extent to which companies have adopted the UK Financial Reporting Council's revised guidance on going concern and liquidity
  • the use of the UK Accounting Standards Board's Reporting Statement: Operating and Financial Review.

The UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) issued a consultation paper on the future of narrative reporting in the United Kingdom in August 2010. The consultation period closed on 19 October 2010 and Deloitte has provided the results of the 2010 survey to BIS.

Main findings

  • the average length of the annual reports of UK listed companies is now over 100 pages for the first time (at 101 pages), more than double the average length of 44 pages recorded in 1996 when the surveys commenced
  • 93%, 94% and 90% of corporates provided the required information about the environment, employees, and social and community issues respectively. These percentages were a significant improvement on the 2009 equivalents of 87%, 89% and 70%
  • 90% of companies clearly identified key performance indicators, an increase from 84% in 2009. The average number of key performance indicators was seven
  • 4% of companies (2009: 7%) had received a modified audit report relating to going concern. While it is positive that this number has decreased, more companies named the state of the economy as a key business risk. Three quarters of companies did so in 2010 compared with 63% of companies in 2009
  • 35% (2009: 32%) of companies fully complied with the UK's Combined Code on Corporate Governance.

 

Click for Swimming in words - Surveying narrative reporting in annual reports (PDF 6,619k).

October IASB meeting – minor agenda change and additional meeting

20 Oct, 2010

The IASB has announced a minor change to the agenda for the current meeting and an additional meeting to be held next week.

The discussion of Financial Instruments: Hedge Accounting – Hedging instruments scheduled for Thursday has been removed from the agenda. At the same time an additional IASB meeting has been announced for 27 October 2010. The topic to be discussed is Financial Instruments: Hedge Accounting.

Notes from Day 2 of the October IASB meeting

20 Oct, 2010

The IASB met in London on Wednesday 20 October for the second day of its regular monthly meeting.

The topics discussed were as follows (click through to detailed Deloitte observer notes for that topic):

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.

Notes from Day 1 of the October IASB meeting

20 Oct, 2010

The IASB met in London on Tuesday 19 October for the first day of its regular monthly meeting.

The topics discussed were as follows (click through to detailed Deloitte observer notes for that topic):

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.

Updated IFAC guide to the audit of SMEs

19 Oct, 2010

The Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has published the second edition of its Guide to Using International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) in the Audit of Small- and Medium-sized Entities.

The implementation guide is intended to help practitioners understand and efficiently apply the Clarified International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), which are effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2009.

Click for IFAC press release (link to IFAC website). The guide may be Downloaded from IFAC's website.

Outcomes of IFAC and UNCTAD conference on corporate governance

19 Oct, 2010

On 12 October 2010, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) hosted a conference in Geneva, Switzerland to discuss the next steps for global corporate governance reforms in light of the global financial crisis.

IFAC has recently announced the outcomes of the conference.

The conference delegates acknowledged the accounting profession has a key role to play in strengthening corporate governance and facilitating the integration of governance and sustainability into strategy, operations, and reporting. The delegates also noted the need for board level focus on sustainability, improved risk management and executive compensation arrangements, and a need global dialogue between policy makers, the accounting profession, and other financial industries.

Click for:

 

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