August

Pre-meeting summaries for the September 2016 IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting

30 Aug, 2016

The IFRS Interpretations Committee will meet at the IASB's offices in London on 6 and 7 September. We have now posted our popular pre-meeting summaries for the meeting that allow you to follow the Committee's decision making more closely.

The IFRS Interpretations Committee will discuss eight issues — finalising two agenda decisions, continuing its work on two Interpretations and two sets of amendments to IFRS, and considering two new items.

Agenda decisions

The staff are recommending that two agenda decisions be finalised:

  • IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements - service concession arrangements in which the infrastructure is leased (agenda paper 7).; and
  • IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement - fees and costs included in the 10 per cent test for derecognition of financial liabilities (agenda paper 9).

Interpretations

The Interpretations Committee issued a Draft Interpretation IAS 12 Income Taxes – Uncertainty over income tax treatments in October 2015. At this meeting the Committee will have an initial discussion of the comments received from the public consultation (agenda paper 2).

The Committee is being asked to approve the preparation of a draft interpretation of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures, addressing how those standards interact (agenda paper 4).

Amendments

The Committee has been considering the comments received from the public exposure of proposed amendments to IAS 19 Employee Benefits and IFRIC 14 The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction. At this meeting the Committee will be asked to finalise its recommendations to the IASB on those amendments (agenda paper 3).

The Committee has also started to develop an amendment to IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment that would require any proceeds from selling items produced while testing PP&E being constructed to be recognised in profit or loss. The Committee will continue those discussions (agenda paper 5).

New items

The Committee will be considering two new items. In both cases the staff are recommending that matters not be taken onto its agenda:

  • IAS 12 Income Taxes – recognition of deferred taxes in asset acquisitions (agenda paper 6); and
  • IFRS 9 Financial Instruments - Modification or exchange of financial liabilities that do not result in derecognition (agenda paper 8).

Agenda consultation

The Interpretations Committee will be given an update of the conclusions of the agenda consultation.

The pre-meeting summaries for the meeting can be found here. We will update this page for our Deloitte observer notes from the meeting as they become available.

Agenda for the upcoming IFASS meeting

30 Aug, 2016

The International Forum of Accounting Standard Setters (IFASS) will meet in London on 27 and 28 September 2016. One topic of discussion will be the future of IFASS and the expectations regarding the cooperation with the IASB.

The meeting will directly follow the the 2016 World Standard-Setters (WSS) meeting and will be the first meeting under the chairmanship of Ms Liesel Knorr, former president of the Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (ASCG).

The agenda is summarised below:

Tuesday, 27 September 2016 (14:00-18:30)

  • Opening remarks
  • Cooperation of IASB and IFASS/NSS
  • Closed Session: Future of IFASS
    • Consider participants' assessment of last IFASS meeting
    • Future IFASS Strategy
    • What do NSS expect/wish regarding and cooperation with the IASB?
  • Professional Judgement and “Terms of Likelihood” under IFRS – Follow-up on the research performed by AASB and KASB
  • Optional Session: Improvements to IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows – FRC Discussion paper


Wednesday, 28 September 2016 (09:00-17:30)

  • Closed Session: Future of IFASS (continued)
  • Improvements to IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows – Brief overview of the DP’s main ideas
  • Towards a Framework for Corporate Reporting
  • Outreaches on IAS 26 and IFRS 13
    • Future of IAS 26 Accounting and Reporting by Retirement Benefit Plans
    • PiR of IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement
  • Rate regulated activities
    • Information about research undertaken on the economic value of financial information on RRA
    • Rationales for recognising regulatory assets and liabilities
    • Input from IFASS members
  • Not-for-profit reporting – Update on the work of the NFP working group
  • Public sector reporting (IPSASB)
    • Update on current project relevant to IFASS
    • Exchange and Non-exchange revenues
  • Wrap up

ECON ready to support Commission conclusion on EFRAG funding

29 Aug, 2016

On 31 August 2016, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) of the European Parliament (EP) will consider a draft report that would support a proposal by the European Commission (EC) to extend the financing of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) beyond 2016.

Regulation (EU) No 258/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 established a programme of EU co-financing of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB). The regulation formed the legal basis for the continuation of financing the IFRS Foundation and PIOB for the period 2014-2020 and of EFRAG for the period 2014-2016. The agreement limited the financing period of EFRAG to three years in view of prospective reforms that might arise from the Maystadt Report.

In April 2016, the EC concluded that the governance reform of EFRAG has been successfully implemented on 31 October 2014. Consequently, the EC proposed to extend the European Union co-financing of EFRAG for the period 2017 - 2020 under the programme established by the regulation. Later the same month, a committee referral was announced in Parliament with a final ECON vote expected on 11 October 2016.

The draft report prepared for the ECON meeting this Wednesday acknowledges "EFRAG’s key role in ensuring a clear and strong European voice on accounting matters at international level" and "agrees with the Commission proposal to continue the Union’s Co-Financing of EFRAG for the period of 2017-2020 in order to meet the long-term objectives of the Union programme". However, the report also notes that:

Regulation (EU) No 258/2014 requires the Commission to prepare an annual report on the activity of the IFRS Foundation as regards the development of IFRS, of PIOB and of EFRAG. With regard to EFRAG, such annual report should also refer to the follow-up and implementation of the recommendations and demands made in the European Parliament’s resolution of 7 June 2016 on International Accounting Standards (IAS) evaluation and the activities of the IFRS Foundation, EFRAG and PIOB.

The June 2016 EP resolution is not legally binding but serves as guidance and reference in future EU law-making processes.

Please click for the following addition information on the EP website:

IFAC urges G20 to call for global adoption of IFRSs

26 Aug, 2016

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has submitted recommendations for endorsement by the Group of Twenty (G20) during their meeting in China on 4-5 September 2016.

The recommendations are grouped into two overarching aims:

  • Stronger governance for trust and integrity in business and public sector. In this context the IFAC calls on the G20:
    1. to strengthen governance, to combat fraud and corruption, and to restore public trust and integrity;
    2. to enhance public sector financial management by actively encouraging the adoption of accrual-based accounting in the public sector and by requiring the FSB to encompass the public sector; and
    3. to promote integrated reporting.
  • Creation of a cooperative, consistent, and smart global regulatory environment. The five recommendations in this case are:
    1. to develop and promote the global adoption of clear principles for good regulation;
    2. to acknowledge the importance of international standards;
    3. to enhance global consistency;
    4. to call for cooperation on taxation; and
    5. to establish a permanent G20 secretariat.

The recommendation on international standards expressly refers to IFRSs:

Issue a clear call for the adoption and implementation, across all jurisdictions, of:

  • International Financial Reporting Standards;
  • International Standards on Auditing;
  • Auditor independence requirements set out in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants; and
  • International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

Please click to access the full letter and a corresponding press release on the IFAC website.

Agenda for the September 2016 IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting

25 Aug, 2016

The IFRS Interpretations Committee will meet at the IASB's offices in London on 6 and 7 September. The agenda for the meeting is now available.

The IFRS Interpretations Committee will continue its discussions on issues regarding IAS 16 and IFRS 9/IAS 28, deliberate comment letters received on issues regarding IAS 21, IFRIC 14, IAS 19 and IFRIC14/IAS19, finalise agenda decisions on IFRIC 12 and IFRS 9, and consider new issues on IAS 12 and IFRS 9.

The full agenda for the meeting can be found here. We will update this page for any changes to the agenda and our Deloitte observer notes from the meeting as they become available.

New guide to IFRS Taxonomy common practice content

25 Aug, 2016

The IFRS Taxonomy contains some content that reflects new common practice regarding disclosures entities commonly provide in practice when applying IFRSs. These disclosures are not explicitly referred to in the standards or the accompanying materials.

To provide users with a better understanding of this kind of content and thus to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the IFRS Taxonomy consultation process, the IFRS Foundation has developed a Guide to Common Practice Content. The guide clarifies:

  • IFRS Taxonomy common practice content;
  • why the IFRS Taxonomy includes common practice content;
  • the process followed to identify common practice elements; and
  • the criteria used to propose identified common practice elements for inclusion in the IFRS Taxonomy.

For more information, please see the press release and the new guide on the IASB website.

 

New Chair and Vice-Chair for the IASB's Islamic Finance Consultative Group

25 Aug, 2016

The IASB has updated its website detailing the work of its Islamic Finance Consultative Group. As a result of the agenda consultation 2011, the IASB noted Islamic accounting as one of the possible issues for its agenda post 2011 and created a consultative group for Sharia'a-compliant instruments and transactions, which has now been renamed.

The group does not judge whether products are compliant with the requirements of Sharia'a law. Members are aware that there are differing views on whether particular products are compliant; however, dealing with those views is beyond the remit of the group. Therefore, the group's focus is on challenges that may arise in the application of IFRSs to Islamic finance instruments and transactions, which would be brought to the attention of the IASB's IFRS Interpretations Committee.

The newly updated website dedicated to the group's work shows that Mr. Faiz Azmi from PwC Malaysia has been appointed Chair of the consultative group and IASB member Martin Edelmann is the new Vice-Chair. Mr. Wayne Upton, Chairman of the IFRS Interpretations Committee, acts as the group's coordinator.

Please click for the updated IASB website reflecting these changes and a corresponding press release.

Hans Hoogervorst discusses the IASB's future strategy at African conference

24 Aug, 2016

At the Joint IFRS Foundation, PAFA, and ICPAK Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst gave a speech titled ‘Latest developments and future focus'. He discussed (1) how Africa can use IFRS to achieve economic progress and (2) the IASB's new 'better communication' initiative.

Mr Hoogervorst provided his usual remarks on IFRS adoption around the world and then reflected on Africa's role in the global economy. He noted that "Africa, and in particular Kenya, is making good progress, putting in place structural reforms and adopting international norms for sound financial systems.  IFRS Standards are part of this package, as recommended by the Financial Stability Board, the World Bank and IOSCO."

He went on to discuss the IASB's work plan and focused on the board's future priorities. Mr Hoogervorst discussed the 'better communication' theme that he unveiled during a speech in June 2016. After explaining that the board's goal is to improve the communications effectiveness of IFRS-based financial statements, Mr Hoogervorst reassured the audience that the IASB would "not propose to cut back the information provided, nor to dramatically increase it." He elaborated on the primary financial statements project, which he called the "central building block" of the 'better communication' effort:

This project will potentially result in a facelift of what is often called the ‘face of the financial statements’. Its focus will be to improve the organisation of the statements of financial performance (profit or loss and other comprehensive income), the statement of cash flows and the statement of financial position, also called the balance sheet. We might also try to find a better way to present some elements of Other Comprehensive Income, which is currently a conundrum for most investors.

Mr Hoogervorst also listed the other projects that are meant to improve the communications effectiveness of financial statements:

  • disclosure initiative project;
  • the development of a materiality practice statement;
  • digital reporting efforts.

The full text of Mr Hoogervorst’s speech is available on the IASB’s website.

BUFDG publish study on Integrated Reporting in Higher Education

23 Aug, 2016

The British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG) have published a study on the the use of integrated reporting (<IR>) principles by seven universities.

The study first examined the <IR> framework developed by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) before interpreting and abridging this framework in light of the specific circumstances and needs of the Higher Education section in the UK. The annual reports of seven higher education institutions were then assessed against this abridged framework.

The results of the study revealed that whilst some of the institutions assessed have taken good first steps towards applying integrated reporting principles, most of the institutions assessed do not yet prepare Integrated Reports. However this can be remedied by higher education institutions taking some simple actions, including adopting a more strategic and forward-looking focus when preparing their annual reports.

For further detail and to access the full study click here.

Summary of the July 2016 ITCG conference call

22 Aug, 2016

The IASB has published notes to the IFRS Taxonomy Consultative Group (ITCG) conference call held on 28 July 2016.

The ITCG discussed:

  • the Guide to Common Practice Content; and
  • Amendments to IFRS 4: Applying IFRS 9 Financial Instruments with IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts.

For more information, see the summary on the IASB's website.

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