May

ICAEW, SASB and WBCSD to host ESG roadshow

07 May, 2021

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) are hosting a roadshow on 11 May on how businesses can meet investors' requirements for sustainability information.

The event will cover:

  •  Guidance on improving the quality of ESG information
  •  Investor demand for ESG disclosure and how it is being used
  •  Benefits of assurance to companies and investors
  •  Advice on obtaining assurance

Further information and details of how to register are available here.

IASB to conduct fieldwork on its disclosure review ED

07 May, 2021

On 25 March 2021, the IASB published the exposure draft ED/2021/3 'Disclosure Requirements in IFRS Standards — A Pilot Approach (Proposed amendments to IFRS 13 and IAS 19)' that contains proposed guidance for itself when developing and drafting disclosure requirements in IFRSs in future as well as proposed amendments to IFRS 13 'Fair Value Measurement' and IAS 19 'Employee Benefits' that result from applying the proposed guidance to those standards. The IASB is now inviting preparers of financial statements to participate in fieldwork to test the proposals in the ED.

The IASB is looking for preparers that would conduct fieldwork using its instructions and questionnaires to test the application of the proposed new requirements in IFRS 13, IAS 19 or both. Participants would then summarise and report the results of the fieldwork.

Please click for more information on the IASB website.

EC conference on the proposed Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the way forward

07 May, 2021

In its efforts to revise the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), the European Commission (EC) in April 2021 published a proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). At a high-level conference on 6 May 2021 "Proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive - The Way Forward" participants also discussed the tight timeframe of the EC proposals.

The EC proposed a transposition of the CSRD into national law by member states by 1 December 2022, so that the amendments would be applicable for the first time for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2023. In her keynote speech, Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, highlighted that the timing was ambitious. The draft CSRD proposed that for reporting under the new directive, European sustainability reporting standards that are still to be developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) would have to be applied.

Ms McGuinness stated "we don't have a lot of time", but also added "but we will make sure that we will have those standards". She explained that to allow setting up the new structure within EFRAG, but to also have the standards available in time, the EC would task EFRAG to do these two things in parallel: set up the new Board and corresponding technical structures and also begin with the development of the new EU non-financial reporting standards based on the work done by the project task force on preparatory work for the elaboration of possible EU non-financial reporting standards of the European Corporate Reporting Lab, which works under the roof of EFRAG, but is not subject to its governance structure. Those standards would later be approved by the new technical bodies within EFRAG.

A recording of the conference is available on the EC website. Ms McGuinness' keynote address and her answers to questions from the audience begin at about 14:15hrs.

IFAC encourages a building blocks approach for reporting sustainability-related information

07 May, 2021

In September 2020, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) released 'Enhancing Corporate Reporting: The Way Forward' calling for the creation of a new sustainability standards board that would exist alongside the IASB under the IFRS Foundation. The IFAC has now published a revised building blocks approach to reporting sustainability information — enhancing its previously issued roadmap.

As in the predecessor publication, IFAC continues to support a new standard-setting board under the IFRS Foundation that can lead to the coordination and harmonisation of reporting and provide a baseline of requirements addressing sustainability information that is material to enterprise value. With the new publication, IFAC hopes to foster discussion on how the building blocks approach can deliver a global system for consistent, comparable, and assurable sustainability-related information that best meets the needs of investors and other stakeholders.

Please click to access Enhancing Corporate Reporting: Sustainability Building Blocks and a corresponding press release on the IFAC website.

IASB publishes amendments to IAS 12

07 May, 2021

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published 'Deferred Tax related to Assets and Liabilities arising from a Single Transaction (Amendments to IAS 12)' that clarify how companies account for deferred tax on transactions such as leases and decommissioning obligations.

 

Background

The IFRS Interpretations Committee received a submission about IAS 12 Income Taxes and the recognition of deferred tax in relation to leases (when a lessee recognises an asset and a liability at the lease commencement) and decommissioning obligations (when an entity recognises a liability and includes the decommissioning costs in the cost of the item of of property, plant and equipment). The submitted fact pattern assumed that lease payments and decommissioning costs were deductible for tax purposes when paid and identified different approaches in practice.

The Committee discussed the submission and came to the conclusion that the matter was relevant and widespread, as there are various kinds of contracts and fact patterns affected. Moreover, the question as to whether tax deductions are attributable to a contract, a (single) asset/liability, or rather to cash flows, and as to which consequences this may have for determining temporary differences, is fundamental within IAS 12. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the IASB develop clarifying amendments to IAS 12.

The IASB discussed the issue and in July 2019 published an exposure draft of proposed clarifying amendments, which have now been finalised.

 

Changes

The main change in Deferred Tax related to Assets and Liabilities arising from a Single Transaction (Amendments to IAS 12) is an exemption from the initial recognition exemption provided in IAS 12.15(b) and IAS 12.24. Accordingly, the initial recognition exemption does not apply to transactions in which both deductible and taxable temporary differences arise on initial recognition that result in the recognition of equal deferred tax assets and liabilities. This is also explained in the newly inserted paragraph IAS 12.22A.

     

    Effective date and transition

    The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023. Early adoption is permitted.

    An entity applies the amendments to transactions that occur on or after the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented. It also, at the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented, recognises deferred tax for all temporary differences related to leases and decommissioning obligations and recognises the cumulative effect of initially applying the amendments as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings (or other component of equity, as appropriate) at that date.

     

    Additional information

    Please click for:

     

    FRC appoints members to its Advisory Panel

    06 May, 2021

    The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has announced the appointment of 19 members to its newly established Advisory Panel with effect from 1 May 2021.

    The Advisory Panel is a group of appointed non-executive subject matter specialists, who are called on to provide expert advice and input across the breadth of the FRC's activities.  The Advisory PAnel is not a decision-making body within the FRC's governance structure.

    A press release with further information is available on the FRC website.

    Recent sustainability and integrated reporting developments

    06 May, 2021

    A summary of recent developments at SEC, CAQ, FASB, IFAC, IFAC/IIRC, IIIRC/SASB, GRI/SASB, SASB, WEF/VBA, WBCSD, EFRAG, ACCA, A4S, SEBI, and SSE.

    The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has (all links to the SEC website):

    The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has (all links to the CAQ website):

    The US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has released a staff educational paper on the intersection of environmental, social, and governance matters with financial accounting standards (link to FASB website).

    The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has (all links to IFAC website):

    The IIRC and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) have published a joint article on how an integrated report can be strengthened by using SASB Standards (link to IIRC website).

    The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the SASB have published a joint publication A Practical Guide to Sustainability Reporting Using GRI and SASB Standards (link to GRI website).

    The SASB has (all links to SASB website):

    The World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Value Balancing Alliance (VBA) have published a joint statement noting their intention to work together to achieve systematic change in the direction of global sustainability / ESG accounting and reporting standards (link to WEF website).

    The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has announced the publication of a report Corporate natural capital accounting - from building blocks to a path for standardization (link to WBCSD website).

    The project task force on the reporting of non-financial risks and opportunities and the linkage to the business model of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) will host an outreach event on 25 May that aims to get stakeholder feedback on its draft report’s key findings (link to EFRAG website).

    The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has published a report containing the results of a study that looked at climate change reporting by mining, oil and gas companies (link to ACCA website).

    Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) has published the A4S Essential Guide to Valuations and Climate Change (link to A4S website, publication also available in the French language).

    The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has announced to introduce new ESG reporting requirements beginning with the 2022-23 financial year (link to SEBI website).

    The United Nation's Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) announces that (all links to SSE website):

     

    UK Endorsement Board secretariat publishes its feedback statement on the IASB's Exposure Draft ED/2020/4 Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback

    06 May, 2021

    The UK Endorsement Board secretariat has published its feedback statement on the International Accounting Standard Board's (IASB's) Exposure Draft ED/2020/4 'Lease Liability in a Sale and Leaseback (Proposed amendment to IFRS 16)'.

    The UK Endorsement Board secretariat had previously published its final comment letter on this ED.

    The feedback statement summarises the main comments received by the UKEB secretariat on its draft comment letter and explains how the comments were reflected in the final comment letter submitted to the IASB.

    A press release and the feedback statement are available on the UK Endorsement Board website.

    Deloitte comment letter on FRED 78 'Draft amendments to FRS 102 and FRS 105 - Covid-19 related rent concessions beyond 30 June 2021'

    05 May, 2021

    We have published our comment letter on the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC's) Financial Reporting Exposure Draft (FRED) 78 'Draft amendments to FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and FRS 105 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime - COVID-19-related rent concessions beyond 30 June 2021'.

    We welcome the opportunity to comment on FRED 78.  We agree with the proposed amendments and concur with the FRC’s conclusions in the impact assessment.

    The full response is contained within the full comment letter.

    We comment on the BEIS consultation on climate-related financial disclosures

    05 May, 2021

    We have published our comment letter on the consultation issued by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on requiring mandatory climate-related financial disclosures by publicly quoted companies, large private companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs).

    We welcome this consultation paper as an important step towards the UK government’s goal of achieving transparency in business reporting on climate-related issues across the UK economy.

    The four pillars of the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) are representative of the way in which businesses are managed and governed and we therefore support their use in framing the proposed requirements. However, we are concerned that if BEIS uses a new set of disclosure requirements, which are worded and structured differently from TCFD, this could be confusing to apply and may lead to a lack of comparability. It could also create further complications when moving to a global climate-related financial disclosure standard that is likely to encompass the four recommendations and eleven recommended disclosures of TCFD.

    We therefore strongly advise that BEIS instead bring the four recommendations of TCFD into the legislation as the requirements. In our view, this will provide a clear overview of the required disclosures, set consistent expectations, increase transparency and drive business action. In addition, we recommend that BEIS include a requirement that, in complying with the requirements, companies should have regard to the eleven recommended disclosures of TCFD. In our view, this will facilitate a proportionate approach for in-scope companies and provide a level of specificity that should increase quality of disclosures.

    We observe that the proposed scope of the new requirements is similar to, but not the same as, one of the proposals for a revised definition of a Public Interest Entity (PIE) in the BEIS White Paper: Restoring Trust in Audit and Corporate Governance. We recommend that the government consider whether the scope of these requirements can or should be aligned with the outcome of the White Paper consultation once this is known. We also firmly believe that the government needs to review the many and varied scoping regimes and definitions that now exist in the Companies Act 2006 and regulations with a view to simplifying and harmonising them.

    Finally, we strongly encourage the government to finalise and publish legislation arising from this consultation to take effect as soon as practicable.

    The full response is contained within the comment letter.

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