The paper is intended to enhance the public debate on the preparation of combined financial statements under IFRS since "[a]t present, IFRSs do not provide a specific standard for the preparation of combined financial statements. Therefore, there seem to be diverse practices in preparing such financial information. [...] Since significant diverse practices in preparing combined financial information are inappropriate for the functioning of capital markets, there is an obvious need for harmonisation." The paper forms a first step to collect views from all parties concerned and describes briefly the key areas relevant for the preparation and understanding of combined financial statements and identifies questions. The press release on the FEE's website contains a link to the discussion paper. The comment deadline is 30 September 2011.

 

The comment period for the exposure drafts setting out the proposals for a three-tier reporting framework, which aims to balance the needs of preparers and users of accounts, still runs until 30 April 2011. The case studies can be accessed on the ASB's website.

 

The Trustees have announced that the unaccompanied IFRS 2011 are now available on the IASB's website.

 

Each update lasts no more than an hour, and sessions are normally held three times a year, approximately at the end of March, July, and November. We intend to make a recording of each session available on IAS Plus for a period of at least four months from the date of the presentation. The topics covered in the March 2011 webcast:

• UK developments
• Offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities
• IAS 39 replacement
• Hedge accounting
• Amortised cost and impairment
• Recent and forthcoming IFRS developments

To access the recording click here. There is a permanent link on our UK Country Page.

Antonio J. Zoido is Chairman of Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME), the operator of all stock markets and financial systems in Spain. He has been also Chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges, Chairman of FESE (Federation of European Stock Exchanges), Chairman of ECMI (European Capital Market Institute) and member of the of the Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). His initial term begins immediately and will expire on 31 December 2013. The term is renewable once. Please click for IFRS Foundation press release (PDF 85k) and our overview of Trustees working currently for the IFRS Foundation.

 

The report follows on the from the issue of Louder than Words: Principles and Actions for Making Corporate Reports Less Complex and More Relevant, which was published in June 2009 (see our earlier story).

The report outlines recommendations and methodologies for reduced clutter under existing reporting requirements (including IFRSs):

• A call for action to reduce barriers to reducing clutter – focusing on materiality, tackling longstanding explanatory material in printed annual reports and engaging with other stakeholders
• Changing some of the behaviours that currently serve as barriers to cutting clutter – addressing issues such as "simply repeating disclosures made in prior years" to "fear of challenge from regulators"
• Disclosure aids to enable preparers to tackle clutter – providing illustrative examples on governance, accounting polices and share-based payments.

In relation to materiality, the report notes the following:

IAS 1 states that "An entity need not provide a specific disclosure required by an IFRS if the information is not material." Yet it is exactly these immaterial disclosures that we observe and define as clutter. Is this message not understood or not getting through, or does it need to be refined to change the default of including everything? One of the key reasons for including all disclosures given by interviewees was a "lack of confidence in making the judgement between disclosures that are material and those that are not." It is apparent that the lack of clarity around what materiality means from a disclosure perspective continues to be a significant barrier in both preparing and auditing financial statements.

The push to reduce the volume of disclosures in financial reports has been increasing in recent times. In response to a request from the IASB, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) are working on project with the aim of reducing the volume of disclosure requirements in IFRSs (see our earlier story).

The ASB hopes that the report will stimulate debate and action on this issue, and welcomes any comments by 30 September 2011. Click for ASB press release (link to FRC website).

The IASB held an additional meeting in London on 6 April 2011. We've posted Deloitte observer notes from the meeting (click through for direct access to the notes for each topic):

Wednesday, 6 April 2011 (IASB only)

• Leases: education session
• Definition of a lease
• Types of leases
• Accounting for variable lease payments

The next regular IASB meeting is scheduled for 11-15 April 2011.

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

You can access the agenda on our April 2011 IASB meeting page. We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available.

 

IFRS Foundation Trustees meeting (Thursday, 31 March 2011)

• IASB Chairman's report
• Advisory Council Chairman's report
• Education Initiative
• Due Process Oversight Committee
• Executive Committee – IFRSF Trustees' Strategy Review

IFRS Foundation Trustees – Monitoring Board meeting (Friday, 1 April 2011)

• Monitoring Board Governance Review
• IFRSF Trustees' statement on their Strategy Review
• IFRSF Trustees' search for a new Chairman and other appointments
• IASB Activities
• Due Process Oversight Committee Chairman's comments
• Financing and budget

The next scheduled meeting of the IFRS Foundation Trustees is scheduled to be held in the United States on 13-14 July 2011.

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte observers for the IFRS Foundation Trustees meeting and the IFRS Foundation Trustees - Monitoring Board meeting.

This IFRS:

• defines fair value,
• sets out a single IFRS framework for measuring fair value, and
• requires disclosures about fair value measurements.

It is currently made available to its subscribers.

For more information, view our Fair Value Measurements project page.