February

IFRS Foundation translations update

14 Feb, 2012

The IFRS Foundation has announced the publication of the following translations:

  • Azeri translation of the 2011 requirements, and new and revised standards issued since 1 January 2011. These documents can be accessed on the eIFRS site (eIFRS subscribers only).
  • French translation of the exposure draft Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The French translation is available on the comment on a proposal web page.
  • French translations of two amendments to standards, (1) Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IAS 32) and (2) Disclosures—Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IFRS 7). These documents can be accessed on the eIFRS site (eIFRS subscribers only).
  • Kazakh translation of the 2011 requirements of IFRSs. The document can be accessed on the public website.
  • Russian translation of the requirements applicable on 1 January 2012. The document can be accessed on the public website.
  • Spanish translations of three amendments to standards, (1) Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IAS 32), (2) Disclosures—Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IFRS 7), and (3) Mandatory Effective Date of IFRS 9 and Transition Disclosures (Amendments to IFRS 9 (2009), IFRS 9 (2010) and IFRS 7). These documents can be accessed on the eIFRS site (eIFRS subscribers only).

Deloitte summary of public sector standards

13 Feb, 2012

Deloitte has published the 2012 edition of 'IPSAS Summary', which provides a summary of the provisions of all International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) on issue at 1 February 2012.

A number of countries are currently considering whether to adopt IPSAS for public sector entities or non-profit organisations. For instance, New Zealand is currently considering a regime for 'Public benefit entities (PBE)' which would see the establishment of a set of 'NZ PBE standards' based on IPSAS modified as appropriate for New Zealand circumstances and not-for-profit entities.

Many IPSAS are based on equivalent International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), with adjustments for matters specific to the public sector. As such, the IPSAS require accrual based accounting which is not always applied by public sector entities in many countries of the world. The Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) late last year called for many more countries to adopt IPSAS, particularly in light of the "growing number of sovereign debt concerns arising around the world".

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IASB announces public roundtable meetings on its agenda consultation

13 Feb, 2012

The IASB plans to hold a series of public roundtable meetings for its Request for Views Agenda Consultation 2011.

The date and location of upcoming roundtable meetings are as follows (location time shown):

  • Norwalk, CT, USA — 13 March 2012 13:00-15:30
  • Toronto, ON, Canada — 14 March 2012 10:00-12:30
  • London, UK — 23 March 2012 (time to be announced)

Those who wish to participate in the USA or Canada roundtable meetings must register by 5 March 2012; for the UK meeting, registration deadline is 12 March 2012. Click for IASB announcement (link to IASB website).

PAIB report considers growing investor demand for non-financial information

10 Feb, 2012

The Professional Accountants in Business Committee (PAIB) of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a report considering trends in investor demand for, and use of, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information.

The report notes that ESG information is increasingly used by investors to understand an organisation's key ESG factors and how they impact overall performance over a longer time horizon. The reporting includes an appendix which outlines the core sector-neutral ESG metrics demanded by investors and reconciles them to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines - these include such items as greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy use, workplace health and safety and board effectiveness.

The report also recommends how professional accountants can better support their organisations in responding to investor demands for ESG information, and ultimately improve the management and reporting of ESG performance. The recommendations include:

  • Professional accountants should work with their organisations to implement a structured and systematic approach to engaging investors to determine their ESG information needs
  • ESG factors and performance information should be incorporated into governance and accountability arrangements to improve information and disclosure quality
  • Financial and non-financial performance and outcomes should be linked to improve understanding of sustainable value creation
  • Investor needs should be met by material, timely, consistent, and comparable information
  • Data that may be dispersed in different parts of the organisation or its supply chain should be brought together to support internal and external decision making.

Click for access to the report (link to IFAC website).

Updated Due Process Handbook

10 Feb, 2012

The IFRS Foundation has updated its Due Process Handbook.

This updated version contains amendments made by the Trustees during 2011.

Click to view the updated IASB Due Process Handbook (PDF 304k, link to IASB website).

Two new IFRS Foundation Trustees appointed

10 Feb, 2012

The IFRS Foundation has announced the appointment of James Quigley and C.B. Bhave as Trustees.

  • James (Jim) Quigley. Jim Quigley is a Senior Partner of the US member firm Deloitte LLP and former Global Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. Throughout his 37 years with the organisation Mr Quigley held many leadership roles and has built a distinguished track record of service to many multinational clients. In addition to his Deloitte responsibilities, Mr Quigley is co-Chairman of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue and serves as a Board member and adviser to several organisations. He is a former Trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation, a former Board member of the Center for Audit Quality and has served on financial reporting advisory committees to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
  • C. B. Bhave. Mr Bhave is a former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Indian securities and market regulator. During this time he also served as Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Regional Committee and as a member of the Executive and Technical Committees of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Before chairing the SEBI, Mr Bhave served as Chairman and Managing Director of the National Securities Depository, during which time he led the reform of the Indian Tax Information Network and created India’s first share depository.

The appointments, approved by the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, begin immediately and will expire on 31 December 2014. The terms are renewable once.

Click for press release (link to IASB website). Deloitte has also released a press release about Mr Quigley's appointment.

IFRS Taxonomy Convention 2012

10 Feb, 2012

The annual IFRS Taxonomy conference will be held on 25 April 2012 in London.

Experts from the international financial reporting, XBRL and international regulatory communities will discuss how XBRL International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) can be implemented.

Click for more information on the conference (link to IASB website).

Updated IASB work plan released

09 Feb, 2012

The IASB has released an updated work plan, dated 1 February 2012, incorporating the impacts of recently issued pronouncements and outlining revised 'current best estimates' for its various projects.

A new target date have been introduced for the IASB-FASB joint project on classification and measurement of financial instruments (limited amendments to IFRS 9). A number of key dates for other financial instrument projects have been deferred, as has the expected next step in the insurance contracts project.

The following is a summary of the changes in the revised work plan:

  • Financial instruments:
    • Classification and measurement - an exposure draft is expected to be issued in the second half of 2012
    • Impairment - re-exposure now expected in the second half of 2012 (previously the second quarter of 2012)
    • Macro hedge accounting - the possibility of a discussion paper has been added to the original intention for an exposure draft due in third quarter 2012
    • General hedge accounting - a review draft of general hedge accounting requirements is still expected in the first quarter of 2012, but the targeted completion of the standard now expected in the second half of 2012 (previously the second quarter of 2012)
  • Insurance contracts - review draft or re-exposure now expected in the second half of 2012 (previously the second quarter of 2012)

Click for IASB work plan as of 1 February 2012 (link to IASB website). We have updated our project pages to reflect the updated work plan and other known developments.

Updated EFRAG 'endorsement status report'

09 Feb, 2012

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.

Click to download the Endorsement Status Report as of 9 February 2012 (PDF 200k, link to EFRAG web site).

Since the last report, draft endorsement advice(s) have been issued for IFRS 10, IFRS 11, IFRS 12, IAS 27 (2011), and IAS 28 (2011).

You can always find the endorsement status report here.

IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board and Trustees conclude their governance and strategy reviews

09 Feb, 2012

The IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board and Trustees have jointly issued their separate reviews of the governance and strategy of the IFRS Foundation.

The two reviews are independent of each other but co ordinated to display their common goal of supporting the IFRS Foundation in creating quality global accepted standards.

In the Trustees' report IFRSs as the Global Standards: Setting a Strategy for the Foundation’s Second Decade the Trustees recommended four areas that the IFRS Foundation should focus on. The four areas outlined in the report are (1) the IFRS Foundation mission, specifically the public interest served by the Foundation's work; (2) governance; (3) the process and procedures used by the Foundation and the IASB; and (4) the organisation's financing.

In the Monitoring Board's review Final Report on the Review of the IFRS Foundation's Governance the Monitoring Board primarily reviewed institutional aspects of governance. Specifically, the review focused on the composition and the respective roles and responsibilities of the Monitoring Board, Trustees and the IASB.

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Correction list for hyphenation

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