September

FRC event on developments in audit 2018

28 Sep, 2018

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) will be hosting an event on ‘Developments in Audit’ on 18 October 2018.

The event will allow participants to hear about the FRC strategy for driving enhanced audit quality and will feature a panel discussion on users’ expectations of audit. These will also be covered in the FRC’s ‘Developments in Audit’ report due to be published on 15 October 2018.

Further details and how to register for the event are available on the FRC website.

IASB issues podcast on latest Board developments

28 Sep, 2018

The IASB has released a podcast featuring Chair Hans Hoogervorst, Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd, and education director Matt Tilling to discuss the deliberations at the September 2018 IASB meeting.

The podcast features discussions of the following topics in more detail:

  • Primary financial statements
  • Dynamic risk management
  • Classification of liabilities

It also touches on three topics discussed by the IFRS Interpretations Committee:

  • Cryptocurrencies
  • Disclosure of information about joint operations
  • Determination of the exchange rate when there is a long term lack of exchangeability

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 at the September IASB meeting and the September IFRS IC meeting.

Research shows that more companies should treat diversity as part of Business Strategy

28 Sep, 2018

Research conducted for the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) by the University of Exeter Business School found that the majority of the UK’s largest companies have adopted policies on boardroom diversity, but their reporting to stakeholders needs to improve.

The research, which focused on reporting by the FTSE 350, shows that only 15% of FTSE 100 companies fully complied with the UK Corporate Governance Code’s provision on diversity reporting by describing their policy on diversity, the process for board appointments, their objectives in implementing the diversity policy and the progress on achieving these objectives. Furthermore, whilst some FTSE 350 companies demonstrate an understanding of diversity as an issue of strategic importance, the majority of companies appear to treat reporting as a mere compliance exercise.

The key findings include:

  • 98% of FTSE 100 and 88% of FTSE 250 companies disclosed a policy on board diversity, a considerable improvement since 2012 when this disclosure requirement was first included in the UK Corporate Governance Code.
  • 15% of FTSE 100 companies report against all four measures stated within provision B.2.4 of the current UK Corporate Governance Code which include describing their policy on diversity, the process for board appointments, their objectives in implementing the diversity policy and the progress on achieving these objectives.
  • Some companies are embracing the spirit of diversity in their narrative reporting but many need to develop and disclose a clearer strategy to drive greater diversity at senior management level.

The revised 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code, which takes effect from 1 January 2019, requires improved reporting on diversity. Provision 23 calls on boards to include in their annual reports a description of the work of the nomination committee, including the way they have implemented the company’s diversity policy and how this links to progress on achieving the objectives of the diversity policy. The 2018 Code emphasises succession planning and diversity reporting, encouraging companies to build a diverse pipeline for succession to senior management.

Please click here to access the article on the FRC’s website.

September 2018 IASB meeting notes posted

27 Sep, 2018

The IASB met on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 September 2018. The major sessions focused on Dynamic Risk Management and Primary Financial Statements. We have posted our comprehensive Deloitte observer notes for all projects discussed during the meeting.

The Dynamic Risk Management discussions focused on Imperfect Alignment and Change in Risk Management. The Board is aiming to have its core model developed some time in the first half of 2019.

For Primary Financial Statements the Board discussed the scope of proposals for subtotals in the statement of profit or loss; unusual or infrequent items; and presentation of the results of integral and non-integral associates and joint ventures in the statement(s) of financial performance. The Board decided to move the project from the research programme into the standard-setting programme.

The Board decided to start preparing the Exposure Draft of an amendment to IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets to clarify the meaning of the term ‘unavoidable costs’ in the definition of an onerous contract.

The Board approved the internal guide it will use for setting and drafting disclosure requirements.

The Board is returning to its narrow-scope proposal to amend IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements to clarify when the discretion to refinance or roll over an obligation affects its classification as current or non-current. It plans to focus on making a separate amendment rather than incorporating it with IAS 1 changes that are expected to come from the Primary Financial Statements project.

The Staff also updated the Board on the Research Programme. The staff are planning to start discussions with the Board on Extractive Activities in 2019.

Please click to access the detailed notes taken by Deloitte observers for the entire meeting.

ITCG calls for new members

27 Sep, 2018

The IASB's IFRS Taxonomy Consultative Group (ITCG) is seeking new members from 1 April 2019.

The ITCG is a consultative group established to assist the IASB in its activities related to the IFRS Taxonomy used when tagging financial information using XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language).

The deadline for applications for membership is 8 November 2018. For more information, see the press release on the IASB website.

Reporting on climate risk gains traction but still lacks financial impact analysis

27 Sep, 2018

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) set up by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop voluntary, consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to lenders, insurers, investors and other stakeholders has published a status report providing an overview of the extent to which companies in their 2017 reports included information aligned with the core TCFD recommendations published in June 2017.

The TCFD surveyed disclosures of over 1,700 firms from diverse sectors with broad geographical representation.

Even though the TCFD found that the majority of the firms surveyed disclose information aligned with at least one of the TCFD recommended disclosures, . many companies just describe climate-related risks and opportunities but don't disclose the financial impact of climate change on the company.

The report also notes that disclosures vary widely across industries and that more non-financial companies than financial companies reported their climate-related metrics and targets. In addition, disclosures are often made in sustainability reports or spread across financial filings, annual and sustainability reports.

Please click for the press release and the status report on the FSB website.

 

Updated IASB work plan — Analysis

25 Sep, 2018

Following the IASB's September 2018 meeting, we have analysed the IASB work plan to see what changes have resulted from the meeting and other developments since the work plan was last revised in July. Six new projects were added to the work plan.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 20 July 2018.

Standard-setting projects

  • Primary financial statements — After deliberations at its September meeting, the IASB decided to move the project from the research agenda to the standard-setting agenda.

Main­te­nance projects

  • Classification of liabilities as current or non-current (Amendments to IAS 1) — After deliberations at its September meeting, the IASB decided the next milestone would be an IFRS amendment. No expected date has been set.
  • Definition of a business (Amendments to IFRS 3) — An IFRS amendment has been pushed to October 2018 (previously set to September 2018).
  • Disclosure Initiative — Accounting policies — Newly added to the work plan. The Board discussed this topic at its September meeting. An exposure draft is noted in the work plan without an expected date.
  • Updating a reference to the Conceptual Framework (Amendments to IFRS 3) — Newly added to the work plan; the Board will decide the project direction at its November 2018 meeting.

Research projects

  • Extractive activities — Newly added to the work plan. The Board discussed this topic at its September meeting and plans to review research. No expected date is listed.
  • IBOR reform and the effects of financial reporting — Newly added to work plan; the Board plans to decide the project direction in Q4 2018.
  • Pension benefits that depend on asset returns — Newly added to the work plan; the Board plans to review research in H2 2019.
  • Share-based payment — The project summary slipped from September 2018 and is now expected in October 2018.

Other projects

  • IFRS Taxonomy update — 2018 general improvements — Newly added to the work plan; a proposed update is expected in Q4 2018.
  • IFRS Taxonomy update — Common practice (IFRS 13) — The IASB published this update on 20 September 2018. The work plan now states that the Board will analyse feedback in Q1 2019.

The above is a faithful com­par­i­son of the IASB work plan at 20 July 2018 and at 25 September 2018. For access to the current IASB work plan at any time, please click here.

 

EC stakeholder event on non-financial disclosures

24 Sep, 2018

On 18 Ocotober 2018, the European Commission (EC) is organising an open stakeholder meeting on non-financial disclosures in Brussels.

The event is split into a morning and an afternoon session:

Please click for more information and registration on the EC website. Participants may register for just the morning session, just the afternoon session, or both. The meeting will also be webcast.

EC high-level conference on the future of corporate reporting

21 Sep, 2018

On 30 November 2018, the European Commission (EC) is organising a high-level conference on "The Future of Corporate Reporting in a digital and sustainable economy" in Brussels.

The conference follows the public consultation on corporate reporting the EC conducted from March to July 2018. (The responses to the consultation have not yet been made publicly available.)

The conference is intended as an additional opportunity to share views and debate on the future of corporate reporting as well as to provide additional input into the EC's "fitness check".

Please click for more information and registration on the EC website. The conference will also be webcast.

IFRS Foundation publishes proposed IFRS Taxonomy update

20 Sep, 2018

The IFRS Foundation has published 'IFRS Taxonomy 2018 — Proposed Update 1 Common Practice (IFRS 13 'Fair Value Measurement')'.

This Taxonomy update includes elements to reflect the new common reporting practice for the disclosure requirements in IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement, including (1) sensitivity of fair value measurement to changes in unobservable inputs and (2) quantitative information about significant unobservable inputs used in fair value measurement.

For more information, see the press release and Taxonomy update on the IASB’s website. Comments are requested by 19 November 2018.

Correction list for hyphenation

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