2017

European Union formally adopts IFRS 16 as well as several amendments to IFRSs

09 Nov, 2017

The European Union has published a Commission Regulation endorsing IFRS 16 'Leases', 'Recognition of Deferred Tax Assets for Unrealised Losses (Amendments to IAS 12)', 'Disclosure Initiative (Amendments to IAS 7)', 'Clarifications to IFRS 15 'Revenue from Contracts with Customers'', and 'Applying IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' with IFRS 4 'Insurance Contracts' (Amendments to IFRS 4)'.

  • IFRS 16 specifies how an IFRS reporter will recognise, measure, present and disclose leases. The standard provides a single lessee accounting model, requiring lessees to recognise assets and liabilities for all leases unless the lease term is 12 months or less or the underlying asset has a low value. Lessors continue to classify leases as operating or finance, with IFRS 16’s approach to lessor accounting substantially unchanged from its predecessor, IAS 17.
  • Recognition of Deferred Tax Assets for Unrealised Losses (Amendments to IAS 12) amends IAS 12 Income Taxes to address diversity in practice around the recognition of a deferred tax asset that is related to a debt instrument measured at fair value that has arisen because of uncertainty about the application of some of the principles in IAS 12.
  • Disclosure Initiative (Amendments to IAS 7) amends IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows to clarify that entities shall provide disclosures that enable users of financial statements to evaluate changes in liabilities arising from financing activities.
  • Clarifications to IFRS 15 'Revenue from Contracts with Customers' amends IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers to clarify three aspects of the standard (identifying performance obligations, principal versus agent considerations, and licensing) and to provide some transition relief for modified contracts and completed contracts.
  • Applying IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' with IFRS 4 'Insurance Contracts' (Amendments to IFRS 4) amends IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts to provide two options for entities that issue insurance contracts within the scope of IFRS 4: the so-called overlay approach and the so-called deferral approach. The application of both approaches is optional.

The European Union effective date is the same as the IASB in case of all pronouncements. However, the text adopted for the IFRS 4 amendments includes a "top up" that allows a financial conglomerate to elect that none of its entities operating in the insurance sector apply IFRS 9 in the consolidated financial statements for financial years the commencement of which precedes 1 January 2021 where certain conditions are met.

The Commission Regulations amending Regulation (EC) No 1126/2008 adopting certain international accounting standards in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council were all published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 9 November 2017.

As a result of the EU's adoption, the EFRAG has updated its endorsement status report.

IPSASB issues revised cash basis IPSAS

09 Nov, 2017

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has released 'Financial Reporting under the Cash Basis of Accounting'.

The IPSASB's current cash basis standard was published in January 2003. It establishes requirements for the preparation and presentation of a statement of cash receipts and payments and supporting accounting policy notes. It also includes encouraged disclosures that enhance the cash basis report.

In an exposure draft published in February 2016, the IPSASB proposed to revise certain requirements and to recast them as encouragements. The draft also proposed amendments to ensure that the existing requirements and encouragements of the standard are better aligned with the equivalent accrual IPSAS, unless there is a reason to deviate as a result of adopting the cash basis of accounting.

These proposals have now been finalised and the preparation of consolidated financial statements, the disclosure of information about external and other assistance, and the disclosure of information about payments made by third parties are now voluntary and not longer mandatory.

The new IPSAS takes effect on 1 January 2019, with earlier adoption encouraged. Please click to access the press release and the new IPSAS on the IPSASB website.

IASB publishes editorial corrections

07 Nov, 2017

The IASB has published editorial corrections that all relate to 'Long-term Interests in Associates and Joint Ventures (Amendments to IAS 28)' issued in October 2017.

Editorial corrections do not change the meaning or application of pronouncements, but instead correct inadvertent errors. The editorial corrections can be viewed on the editorial corrections page of the IASB's website.

Full Programme for the 7th ANC Symposium on Accounting Research

07 Nov, 2017

As already pointed out, the Autorité des Normes Comptables (ANC), the French standard setter, will host its 7th Symposium on Accounting Research on 11 December 2017 in Paris. The full programme for the event, which takes place under the general theme "Accounting and digitalisation", is now available.

Monday 11 December 2017, 9:00 - 18:00

  • Opening remarks
  • Updates and future trends from 2015 and 2016 symposium topics
    • Conceptual Framework: Beyond traditions, a European dynamic?
      • Policy paper
      • Roundtable
      • Address: Is digitalisation a test for Conceptual frameworks?
    • Performance: Is a convergence possible on key indicators?
      • Two policy papers
      • Roundtable
      • Address
  • Risks and gains of digital transformation for accounting standard-setting
    • The digital economy: New paradigms
      • presentation
    • Impact of digitalisation on financial information: New definitions, new ways of publishing, new ways of qualification?
      • Policy paper
      • Roundtable
      • Address on “a framework for a digital reporting”
    • Financial information being tested by the digital economy: New concepts for new transactions?
      • Policy paper
      • Roundtable
      • Address
    • European public good and the accounting challenges of the digital economy
      • Roundtable
  • Closing remarks

Details on the presenters, roundtable participants and speakers are available in the programme on the ANC website.

Investment Association publishes updated Principles of Remuneration

06 Nov, 2017

The Investment Association (IA) has published its updated Principles of Remuneration ("the Principles").

This remuneration guidance sets out its members’ views on the role of shareholders and directors in relation to remuneration and the manner in which remuneration should be determined and structured.

Updates to the Principles, which have been made due to the “ongoing debate surrounding executive pay as well as the Government’s Corporate Governance reform initiatives” include:

  • Updating the section on annual bonus to reflect members’ expectation that bonus targets are disclosed within 12 months of the bonus payment, and that deferral is expected for any bonus opportunity greater than 100% of salary.
  • Reorganising the section on long-term incentive schemes to give a clearer picture of members’ attitudes to specific examples of schemes.
  • Amending the section on relocation benefits

Additionally the IA has issued a letter to Remuneration Committee chairmen highlighting key aspects of the Principles that its members have asked to be re-emphasised to companies. These areas include:

  • Levels of remuneration;
  • Remuneration structures;
  • Shareholder consultation;
  • Pay for performance; and
  • Accountability of remuneration committee chairs.

The press release, revised Principles of Remuneration and letter to Remuneration Committee chairmen are available from the IVIS website.

Updated EFRAG endorsement status report for endorsement advice letter on IFRIC 23

06 Nov, 2017

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has updated its Endorsement Status Report to include its endorsement advice letter on IFRIC 23 'Uncertainty Over Income Tax Treatments'.

In the endorsement advice letter to the European Commission, the EFRAG has concluded that IFRIC 23 meets all technical endorsement criteria and is conductive to the European public good. A final en­dorse­ment of IFRIC 17 is currently expected in 2018.

The updated en­dorse­ment status report, dated 6 November 2017, is available here.

Pre-meeting summaries for the November IASB meeting

06 Nov, 2017

The IASB will meet at its offices in London on 14 November 2017. We have posted our pre-meeting summaries for the meeting that allow you to follow the IASB’s decision making more closely. For each topic to be discussed we summarise the agenda papers made available by the IASB staff and point out the main issues to be discussed by the IASB and the staff recommendations.

There are four topics on the agenda.

Tuesday 14 November 

The meeting starts with a continuation of the discussion on the Primary Financial Statements. There are three topics at this meeting: presentation of an investing category in the statement(s) of financial performance; definition of finance income/expenses; and better ways to communicate other comprehensive income.

The second topic is a proposal to add a new project called Wider Corporate Reporting. The focus of the project would be a review of the Practice Statement issued in 2010 on Management Commentary. The staff are recommending that the IASB update the Practice Statement to help address the lack of alignment and integration between wider corporate reporting and financial reporting.

The Board published Exposure Draft Improvements IFRS 8 Operating Segments (Proposed amendments to IFRS 8 and IAS 34) in March 2017. The IASB will discuss a summary of the feedback received and the areas the staff think might warrant further analysis. Respondents had mixed views on the proposals. The three main areas the staff plan to focus on in analysing the feedback are the proposed clarifications to help identify the CODM;  linking IFRS 8 segments with other parts of the annual reporting package; and clarifications to the criteria for aggregating segments.

The meeting finishes with a discussion of Dynamic Risk Management. The Staff will present the Board with the objectives of the proposed model for dynamic risk management and an outline of the proposed model. The focus of the model is to reflect how financial institutions manage the dynamic net interest margin resulting from typical banking book assets and liabilities by using derivatives to align the asset profile with the target net interest margin profile.  The staff are recommending that the Board develop a cash flow hedge accounting model for accounting for dynamic risk management.

More information

Our pre-meeting summaries are available on our November meeting note page and will be supplemented with our popular meeting notes after the meeting.

Agenda for the November 2017 DPOC meeting

06 Nov, 2017

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation will be meeting in São Paulo from 7 to 9 November 2017. However, only the meeting of the Due Process Oversight Committee (DPOC) on 7 November will be held in public.

The agenda for the DPOC meeting is summarised below.

Tuesday, 7 November 2017 (13:55–15:10)

  • Introduction and Actions from DPOC meeting held on 23 May 2017
  • Technical activities: Key issues and update
  • Correspondence - Report on complaint about breach of Due Process
  • Implementation activities for the insurance contracts standard
  • Review of activities and functions of Advisory Groups
  • Reporting Protocol: general reports
  • Education material – due process
  • Proposal for review of the Due Process Handbook
  • Correspondence: update
  • Summary

Agenda papers for the meeting are available on the IASB's website.

November 2017 IASB meeting agenda posted

03 Nov, 2017

The IASB has posted the agenda for its next meeting, which will be held at its offices in London on 14 November 2017. There are four topics on the agenda.

The Board will discuss the following:

  • Primary financial state­ments
  • Wider corporate reporting
  • IFRS 8 amendments
  • Dynamic risk man­age­ment

The full agenda for the meeting can be found here. We will post any updates to the agenda, our com­pre­hen­sive pre-meet­ing summaries as well as observer notes from the meeting on this page as they become available.

Presentations at ISAR 34

03 Nov, 2017

The thirty-fourth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) was held in Geneva on 1-3 November 2017. All presentations from that meeting are now publicly available.

The topics discussed were:

  • Recent developments on financial and non-financial reporting and their implication for the Sustainable Development Goals;
  • Enhancing comparability of sustainability reporting: Selection of core indicators for company reporting on the contribution towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals;
  • The role of disclosure in risk assessment and enhancing the usefulness of corporate reporting in decision-making;
  • Accounting Development Tool implementation experiences; and
  • Accounting and reporting by microenterprises and small and medium-sized as a means towards financial inclusion.

On the day before the ISAR meeting there was a workshop on practical implementation of IPSAS.

We already pointed out the background papers for the two main agenda items discussed during the session (enhancing comparability of sustainability reporting and the role of disclosure in risk assessment and enhancing the usefulness of corporate reporting in decision-making) - they are now also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Russian and can be accessed here.

The presentations from the IPSAS workshop and the 34th ISAR session are available here (please note that they are presented in reverse order).

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