The goals of the exposure draft are to (1) improve financial reporting by creating a single revenue recognition standard, (2) clarify the principles for recognising revenue, and (3) create consistent principles that can be applied across various transactions, industries and capital markets.

The core principles of the 2010 exposure draft have remain largely unchanged. However, the boards have clarified and simplified the proposal in a number of areas:

• amending the principle for identifying separate performance obligations in a contract
• adding criteria to determine when a performance obligation is satisfied over time and, hence, when revenue is recognised over time
• simplifying the measurement of the transaction price
• aligning the accounting for product warranties more closely with existing requirements
• limiting the scope of the onerous test
• adding practical expedients for retrospective application of the proposals
• specifying the disclosures required for interim financial reports

Comment letters on the revised exposure draft are due by 13 March 2012.

Please click for:

• IASB press release (link to IASB website)
• Exposure Draft ED/2011/6 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (PDF 470k, link to IASB website)

The survey asks for views on the relative importance and urgency of the various projects suggested as additions to the IASB's agenda and, more generally, what works and doesn't work in financial statements.

The IASB believes that the survey should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete. It is available until Monday 19 December 2011 via the IASB website. Comments on the IASB's agenda consultation are due by 30 November 2011.

Click for our previous story on the IASB's future work programme.

The apparent differing views regarding the practical application of the concept of materiality amongst preparers, auditors, possibly users of the financial reports and, in some instances, accounting enforcers is a recurring theme of discussions at the European Enforcers Coordination Sessions (a forum in which all European National Enforcers of financial information meet to exchange views and discuss experiences of enforcement of IFRS). ESMA has therefore decided to publish a consultation paper in order to seek comments from interested parties on their understanding of various aspects of materiality in an effort to contribute to a consistent application of this important concept in financial reporting.

The consultation paper is structured around the chapters IFRS provisions, Characteristics of Primary Users and the Objective of Financial Reports, Attributes of the information, Errors, omissions and misstatements and aggregation, Note disclosures, and Interim reports - each with detailed analyses and questions. An annex to the paper (Annex II) provides a list of IFRS references to materiality and a list of selected references to users of financial statements in IFRS.

Responses to the consultation paper should be submitted by 29 February 2012.

Please click for:

• ESMA press release (link to ESMA website)
• Consultation Paper Considerations of materiality in financial reporting (PDF 170k, link to ESMA website)

This document creates a framework for the Trustees to use when (1) reviewing the effectiveness of due process and (2) monitoring the IASB's compliance with due process.

The DPOC will publish a final draft of the operating protocol in 2012 for public comment, along with proposed enhancements to the Due Process Handbook.

Please click here to view the working draft on the IASB's website.

The Trustees discussed their own regional outreach activities, especially in Europe, and received reports of the Chair of the IASB and the Chair of the IFRS Advisory Council. They also reviewed feedback received in response to the publication of the preliminary conclusions of the Trustees’ strategy review.

The Trustees also discussed the progress made in relation to the appointment of a new Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees. A shortlist of candidates has been agreed by the Trustees and the Monitoring Board and the candidates were interviewed in the third quarter of 2011. The Trustees will now submit their preferred candidate for approval by the Monitoring Board.

Please click here to read the summary on the IFRS Foundation's website. An audio recording of the meeting can be accessed by clicking here.

The Report discusses the application of IFRS 8 requirements by European issuers, and explores the areas posing significant challenges to investors, preparers and/or enforcers. The Report also provides ESMA’s tentative recommendations to enhance the application of the standard.

The conclusions reached by European enforcers in the Report are that '(i) the implementation of IFRS 8 resulted in a fairly similar level of information compared to its predecessor IAS 14 and that (ii) there is homogeneity in the issues faced by European enforcers when enforcing this standard. This stems from a combination of weaknesses in the standard and a failure to fully comply with its requirements by issuers.'

Please click here to read the Report on the ESMA website.

Click through for direct access to the notes:

Monday, 7 November 2011

• Effective date of IFRS 9
  • Mandatory effective date of IFRS 9
  • Comparative restatement

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting. The next IASB meeting is scheduled to occur on 15-16 November 2011.

These model financial statements illustrate the application of the presentation and disclosure requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) for the year ended 31 December 2011 by an entity that is not a first-time adopter of IFRSs. They also contain additional disclosures that are considered to be best practice, particularly where such disclosures are included in illustrative examples provided with a specific Standard.

The model financial statements illustrate the impact of a number of new and revised Standards and Interpretations that are mandatorily effective on 1 January 2011. However, they do not illustrate the impact of early adoption of new and revised Standards and Interpretations that are not yet mandatorily effective on 1 January 2011 (e.g. IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements and IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities).

Click for IFRS Model Financial Statements for 2011 (without early application) (PDF file, 1,506k)

The committee discussed:

• Development of a protocol for due process oversight
• Post-implementation review planning
• Agenda consultation
• Review of the IFRS Interpretations Committee
• Correspondence with third parties
• Due process oversight of standards
• Oversight of XBRL activities
• Interaction with national and regional accounting standard-setters

Please click here to read the notes on the IFRS Foundation's website.