2010

Deloitte webcast on year-end reporting

08 Jan, 2010

On 13 January 2010, Deloitte (United States) will hold a 90-minute Dbriefs webcast on year-end reporting issues that will cover some IFRS matters.

Specific topics will include:
  • Themes and highlights from the December SEC/AICPA Conference
  • Recent developments related to US registrants' adoption of IFRSs
  • Regulatory views on disclosures related to goodwill impairments and non-GAAP measures
  • Comprehensive updates around the latest financial reporting developments
Details about the webcast:
  • Title: Year-End Reporting Issues: An Update on Current Issues and Items on the Horizon
  • Date and time: 13 January 2010, 2:00pm to 3:30pm US Eastern Standard Time (New York time)
  • Click here for More Information and Registration

 

Agenda for January 2010 IASB meeting

08 Jan, 2010

The IASB will hold its January 2010 regular monthly meeting at its offices in London on Monday to Thursday 18-21 January 2010. The sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning are joint with the FASB.

The Board will not meet on Friday. The meeting will be open to public observation and will be webcast. Presented below is the agenda for the meeting.

IASB Board Meeting Agenda18-21 January 2010, London

Monday 18 January 2010 – Joint meeting with FASB (13:00-19:00pm London time)

Tuesday 19 January 2010 – Joint meeting with FASB (08:00-18:45pm London time)

Wednesday 20 January 2010 – Joint meeting with FASB until 12:45pm (08:00-16:30pm London time)

Joint Meeting:

Thursday 21 January 2010 (08:30-14:15pm London time)

Updated EFRAG 'endorsement status report'

07 Jan, 2010

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has updated its report showing the status of endorsement, under the EU Accounting Regulation, of each IFRS, including standards, interpretations, and amendments.

The update reflects the endorsement of the amendment to IAS 32 on classification of rights issues (see our article from 28 December). Click to download the Endorsement Status Report as of 7 January 2010 (PDF 119k).

The following seven IASB pronouncements await EC endorsement:

Standards

  • IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
Interpretations Amendments
You can always find the endorsement status report here.

 

Share-based payment – IFRS v US GAAP

07 Jan, 2010

Deloitte LLP (United States) has published A Closer Look at Share-based Payment Plans and IFRS: Accounting Differences that Matter. Differences between IFRSs and US GAAP – even in areas where there has been substantial convergence – could result in changes that may ultimately affect a company's financial statements and income tax position.

A closer look at how US GAAP and IFRS differ for share-based payment plans can reveal important issues that companies may need to focus on as they develop an IFRS transition strategy. Areas of differences examined in this publication include:
  • Classification of share-based payments
  • Measurement and recognition
  • Effective tax rate
  • Information systems

Click for: A Closer Look at Share-based Payment Plans and IFRS: Accounting Differences that Matter (PDF 908k).

 

IASB Chairman will become ICAS President

07 Jan, 2010

Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, has been nominated as Vice-President of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).

The ICAS Announcement (PDF 47k) said the appointment "is in recognition of Sir David's outstanding contribution to the accountancy profession and to ICAS, and is made with a view to his becoming President of the Institute in 2012. Sir David retires from the IASB on 30 June 2011". The role of Vice-President is unpaid, and will not interfere in any way with Sir David's IASB responsibilities.

 

Concerns about implementation of IFRS 3

07 Jan, 2010

The United Kingdom Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a study Accounting for Acquisitions examining the quality of accounting and reporting under IFRS 3 Business Combinations.

Companies told the FRC that acquisition accounting is costly and difficult, and at the same time investors said that the resulting information is not useful.
The FRC found that IFRS 3 "has been poorly applied by companies due to unfamiliarity with its requirements and the complexity of valuing intangible assets such as brands and customer relationships". The study found that companies had "provided insufficient or inconsistent information about material acquisitions in their audited accounts when compared to the rationale for these acquisitions and supporting explanations given in their business reviews".
The FRC intends to follow up on this study over the next 18 months and to provide feedback to the IASB. The FRC is the UK's independent regulator responsible for promoting confidence in corporate reporting and governance.
Click for the Accounting for Acquisition study (PDF 223k).

 

Notes from Special IASB meeting 5 January

06 Jan, 2010

The IASB held a special joint meeting with the FASB in London on Tuesday 5 January 2010. Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers at the meeting.

The IASB held a special joint meeting with the FASB in London on Tuesday 5 January 2010. Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers at the meeting.

IASB re-exposes liability measurement proposals

05 Jan, 2010

The IASB has published for comment a revised exposure draft (ED/2010/1) of one section of a replacement for IAS 37 'Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets'.

That section deals with measurement of liabilities that are within the scope of IAS 37. IAS 37 applies to liabilities not covered by other accounting standards, including liabilities to decommission assets, environmental liabilities, obligations under onerous contracts, and liabilities arising from legal disputes. In June 2005, the IASB had published Proposals to amend IAS 37, including revised measurement requirements. In the light of the comments received, the IASB has decided to issue revised proposals that include more guidance on measurement. Comment deadline is 12 April 2010. The IASB intends to replace IAS 37 in the third quarter of 2010. Click for IASB Press Release(PDF 100k).

Main provisions of the revised liability measurement ED:


  • IAS 37 currently requires an entity to record an obligation as a liability only if it is probable (likelihood greater than 50%) that the obligation will result in an outflow of cash or other resources from the entity. The revised ED does not include the 'probability of outflows' criterion. Instead, an entity would account for uncertainty about the amount and timing of outflows by using a measurement that reflects their expected value, namely the probability-weighted average of the outflows for the range of possible outcomes.
  • Liabilities within the scope of IAS 37 would be measured at the amount that the entity would rationally pay at the measurement date to be relieved of the liability. Normally, this amount would be an estimate of the present value of the resources required to fulfil the liability, which would take into account the expected outflows of resources, the time value of money, and the risk that the actual outflows might ultimately differ from the expected outflows.
  • If the liability is to pay cash to a counterparty (for example to settle a legal dispute), the outflows would be the expected cash payments plus any associated costs, such as legal fees.
  • If the liability is to undertake a service (for example, to decommission plant) at a future date, the outflows would be the amounts that the entity estimates it would pay a contractor at the future date to undertake the service on its behalf.

 

 

FCAG progress report to G-20

05 Jan, 2010

The Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG), an independent advisory body to the IASB and FASB, has sent a Letter to G-20 Participants updating them on the progress of the IASB and the FASB toward a single set of global financial reporting standards.

An excerpt:

Although conditions may have improved somewhat in various markets around the globe, the FCAG believes it remains critically important to achieve a single set of high quality, globally converged financial reporting standards that provide consistent, unbiased, transparent and relevant information across geographical boundaries. We are encouraged by the Boards' progress to date in developing such standards....

The next several months are likely to see a number of key developments, including:

  • the US Securities and Exchange Commission's response to the comments it has received regarding its proposed roadmap for the potential use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by domestic US reporting companies;
  • the European Union's endorsement decision regarding the completed first part of the IASB's financial instruments project, IFRS 9 Financial Instruments: Classification and Measurement;
  • the constituent feedback on the IASB's proposed standard from the second part of its financial instruments project, Financial Instruments: Amortized Cost and Impairment, and the issuance of its proposal on hedge accounting, the third and final part of its financial instruments project; and
  • the issuance by the FASB of its comprehensive financial instruments proposals on classification and measurement, impairment, and hedge accounting.

In light of all of this, the FCAG expects to meet again in the fourth quarter of 2010 to review the Boards' further progress and any relevant external developments.

Click for: Letter to G-20 Participants (PDF 26k)

 

Concerns about implementation of IFRS 8

05 Jan, 2010

The United Kingdom Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) has issued a Statement FRRP Highlights the Challenge of Implementing New Segmental Reporting Requirements expressing concern about how companies are reporting the performance of key parts of their business in the light of the introduction of IFRS 8 Operating Segments.

IFRS 8 requires companies to provide an analysis of profit, assets, and liabilities so that investors can see the performance of the principal operations or 'segments'. The FRRP reviewed a sample of 2009 interim accounts and 2008 annual accounts and has asked a number of questions about the implementation of IFRS 8, in particular, where:
  • only one operating segment is reported, but the group appears to be diverse with different businesses or with significant operations in different countries;
  • the operating analysis set out in the narrative report differs from the operating segments in the financial statements;
  • the titles and responsibilities of the directors or executive management team imply an organisational structure which is not reflected in the operating segments; or
  • the commentary in the narrative report focuses on non-IFRS measures whereas the segmental disclosures are based on IFRS amounts.
In its statement, the Panel encourages Boards of Directors to test their initial conclusions about their segmental reporting by considering the following questions:
  1. What are the key operating decisions made in running the business?
  2. Who makes these key operating decisions?
  3. Who are the segment managers (as defined in the standard) and who do they report to?
  4. How are the group's activities reported in the information used by management to review performance and make resource allocation decisions between segments?
  5. Is any proposed aggregation of operating segments into one reportable segment supported by the aggregation criteria in the standard, including consistency with the core principle?
  6. Is the information about reportable segments based on IFRS measures or on an alternative basis?
  7. Have the reported segment amounts been reconciled to the IFRS aggregate amounts?
  8. Do the accounts describe the factors used to identify the reportable segments including the basis on which the company is organised?
Click for Statement FRRP Highlights the Challenge of Implementing New Segmental Reporting Requirements (PDF 36k).

 

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