The European Commission's Accounting Regulatory Committee (ARC) voted positively on including the "top up" in the endorsement of Applying IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' with IFRS 4 'Insurance Contracts' (Amendments to IFRS 4) on 29 June and subsequently the European Commission sent the text to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

Before the ARC vote, the ESAs had warned the ARC against the "top up" arguing that "it would lead to opportunities for accounting arbitrage, an un-level playing field and a breach of fundamental principles in accounting, and would ultimately result in a lower degree of investor protection". Given the ARC voted positively on the enlarged text, the ESAs have now turned to the Parliament and the Council to once more stress their position.

Please click for the following additional information:

• Full text including "top up" that the Commission sent to the Parliament and the Council
• Letter sent to the Parliament / the Council (identical in wording) by the ESAs
• Points raised vis-à-vis ARC that were sent as an annex to the letters to the Parliament and the Council

The Governance & Accountability Institute, data partner for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), in cooperation with the Baruch College has released research results showing that using the GRI sustainability reporting framework improves the quality of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) disclosures. Please click for a short research report on the G & A Institute's website.

On 21 June 2017, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) together with AVIVA and Barclays hosted a roundtable Building a more sustainable economy in Europe: Non-financial information and sustainable finance – what next?. A report of the event (IIRC website) and a short video with highlights (YouTube) are now available.

Changes are proposed to the service expenditure analysis (SEA) for England and Wales to reflect organisational and operational changes to services within authorities.

Comments are requested by 15 September 2017.

Click for (all links to CIPFA website)

• Press release
• Consultation on changes to the service reporting code of practice - Invitation to comment 

This webcast is hosted by IASB Board member Stephen Cooper and includes discussions on:

• “The Board’s rationale for disclosure requirements in IFRS 16.”
• “The information needs of users of financial statements.”
• “Key considerations for a lessee in determining what information is most relevant to users of financial statements.”

The webcast is available on the IFRS 16 im­ple­men­ta­tion page on the IASB’s website.

The event is primarily directed at italian stakeholders, however, the event will be held in English and other interested parties can attend. Please see the press release on the EFRAG website for more information.

In addition to updates on major IFRSs (IFRS 17, IFRS 9, IFRS 15, IFRS 16), better communication in finacial reporting, and materiality, the conference will also feature a panel discussion on Islamic accounting. Therefore, the list of speakers not only includes IASB Chair and Vice-Chair, IASB members and staff but also the Chair of the IASB Islamic Finance Consultative Group.

Please click for more information on the conference website (registration required to view the programme) and a preview of the programme as currently planned on the IASB website (no registration required).

The podcast features discussions of the following topics:

• Investor reactions to IFRS 17,
• Materiality practice statement,
• Prepayment features with negative compensation and modification of liabilities (IFRS 9),
• Rate-regulated activities, and
• Goodwill and impairment.

The podcast can be accessed through the press release on the IASB website. More information on the topics discussed is available through our comprehensive notes taken by Deloitte observers of the July 2017 Meeting.

The FRS 105 paper follows similar papers prepared by HMRC for companies transitioning from ‘old’ UK GAAP to either FRS 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework or FRS 102 The financial reporting standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.  HMRC, in December 2016, also published an additional overview paper on key income tax considerations of moving from ‘old’ UK GAAP to FRS 102.

The paper is split into two sections:

• The first section provides a comparison of the accounting and tax differences between ‘old’ UK GAAP, the FRSSE and FRS 105.
• The second section provides a summary of the key accounting and tax considerations upon transition from ‘old UK GAAP’ or the FRSSE to FRS 105.

The papers include the requirements of the law as they stood at the date of the publication.  HMRC intend to update the papers “as further information is available and as new accounting standards and tax law develop”.

For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016 smaller and micro companies can no longer follow the FRSSE.  Such entities will either have to follow the recognition and measurement requirements of FRS 102 and the presentation and disclosure requirements within Section 1A Small Entities or apply FRS 105.

The FRS 105 overview paper is available on the HMRC website. 

General remarks

The IASB continues to not date its work plans any longer, but has re-introduced the possibility of creating a PDF version of the work plan at any given time for personal use. To achieve this, use the "Print this tab" link near the top of the page and then choose creating a PDF.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 28 June 2017.

Standard-setting projects

• No changes

Maintenance projects

• IFRIC 14 — Availability of a refund of a surplus from a defined benefit plan — final amendments are now expected in the first half of 2018 (was: fourth quarter of 2017)
• A new project "Accounting policy changes (Amendments to IAS 8)" has been added to the work plan. This goes back to the Board's June 2017 discussions when the Board tentatively decided to amend IAS 8 to lower the impracticability threshold regarding retrospective application of voluntary changes in accounting policies that result from agenda decisions. An exposure draft is currently expected in the first half of 2018.
• IAS 28 — Long-term interests in associates and joint ventures (split out from the annual improvement process 2015-2017) is now expected to see final amendments in October 2017 (was: September 2017)
• The two remaining issues of the annual improvement process 2015-2017 were set to see final amendments in July 2017. This has been changed to the fourth quarter of 2017.
• IAS 19 — Remeasurement at a plan amendment, curtailment or settlement — final amendments are now expected in the first half of 2018 (was: fourth quarter of 2017)
• IFRS 9 — Prepayment features with negative compensation — discussions this week have clarified that final amendments are expected in October 2017

Research projects

• Discount rates — a research report is now expected in the first half of 2018 (was: September 2017)
• IFRS 2 — Research project on share-based payments — a research report is now expected in the first half of 2018 (was: September 2017)

Other projects

• No changes

The above is a faithful comparison of the IASB work plan at 28 June 2017 and at 21 July 2017. For access to the current IASB work plan at any time, please click here.

Ms Shah, who will take office in October 2017, is currently Deputy Chief Accountant of the Division of Corporation Finance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In that capacity she has supported the SEC staff’s discussions on IFRSs within the International Organization of Securities Commission’s (IOSCO) accounting technical committee.

Please click for more information in the press release on the IASB website.