IASB Vice-Chair speaks at annual AICPA conference

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10 Dec, 2019

At the 2019 AICPA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments, which is currently being held in Washington, IASB Vice-Chair Sue Llyod spoke about the IASB's primary financial statements project, the linkage between financial and non-financial reporting in the IASB's management commentary project, and consistent application of IFRSs.

On primary financial statements, Ms Lloyd noted that the IASB's work reflects the fact that while the traditional financial statements continue to remain the core of investment analysis, the way in which that information is consumed has evolved. In this environment proper structure and comparability of the financial information provided by companies is especially important.  She explained the Board's thinking on new subtotals that are to be introduced and  on non-GAAP measures, where the IASB's proposals will reflect the growth in the use of these measures in the market and their relevance for investors. The IASB plans to publish its proposals in an exposure draft around the end of this year.

On management commentary, Ms Lloyd pointed out that wider corporate reporting information can be classified broadly into two types: (i) information about how the company affects the world and (ii) information about how the world affects the company. It is the second area where the IASB has decided it can and should play a larger role. The corresponding project is therefore aimed at updating the IASB's practice statement on management commentary so that investors have visibility of factors that may affect a company’s future cash flows but may not yet be reflected in the financial statements. As a next step in this project the IASB intends to publish an exposure draft proposing changes to the practice statement in 2020.

Finally, on supporting consistent application, Ms Lloyd explained the work of the IASB's IFRS Interpretations Committee, which she chairs.

The full text of the speech is available on the IASB website.

The AICPA conference ran from 9 to 11 December and featured speeches by — as well as panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions with — members of the SEC, PCAOB, FASB, and IASB and professionals from various industries. Our US colleagues have prepared a Heads Up newsletter with highlights from all days of the conference.

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