October

FRC publishes report on board diversity

07 Oct, 2022

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a report which looks at the challenges and opportunities that minority ethnic individuals might experience in progressing to the boards of top FTSE companies.

The report, titled “Navigating barriers to senior leadership for people from minority ethnic groups in FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies”, was commissioned by the FRC and conducted by a research team from Cranfield University and Delta Alpha Psi Services.

The research highlights that although there are still significant challenges which need to be addressed, there is widespread acknowledgement of the need for serious change.  Obstacles to progression faced by minority ethnic individuals include being overlooked for promotion, overt and covert racism, and having to demonstrate higher standards, compared with colleagues from majority backgrounds.

Further information, and the full report, is available on the FRC website.

FRC to hold webinar on recent corporate reporting reviews

07 Oct, 2022

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is holding a webinar to discuss the key findings from its recent corporate reporting thematic reviews. As well as the key findings the webinar will cover what good reporting looks like and the areas where the FRC expects companies to improve their reporting.

The webinar will discuss the following recently published reviews:

Further details including how to register for the event are included on the FRC website.

FRC opens Post Implementation Review of ISA (UK) 540

07 Oct, 2022

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has opened a post implementation review (PIR) of the auditing standard (ISA) (UK) 540 (Revised December 2018) 'Auditing Accounting Estimates and Related Disclosures'.

ISA (UK) 540 ​(Revised December 2018) became effective for audits of accounting periods beginning on or after 15 December 2019.

The FRC is also hosting two roundtables to support the call for feedback on:

  • Wednesday 23 November 2022 14:00-15:00 (online)
  • Thursday 24 November 2022 11:00-12:00 (at the FRC offices)

The call for feedback is open until 13 January 2023.

For more information refer to the FRC website.

EFRAG publishes September 2022 issue of EFRAG Update

07 Oct, 2022

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has published an ‘EFRAG Update’ summarising public technical discussions held and decisions made during September 2022.

The update reports on the EFRAG Administrative Board's public session on 6 September, the EFRAG Financial Reporting Technical Expert Group (FR TEG) meeting of 14 September 2022, the EFRAG CFSS and EFRAG FR TEG webcast meeting on 14 September 2022 and the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board (EFRAG SRB) and EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Technical Expert Group (EFRAG SR TEG) meetings held in September 2022.

The update also lists EFRAG publications issued in September including:

Please click to download the September EFRAG Update from the EFRAG website.

IFRS Foundation seeks Trustee applications

07 Oct, 2022

The IFRS Foundation is seeking Trustees from Asia-Oceania, the Americas and Europe for terms beginning on 1 January 2024.

Trustees’ responsibilities include oversight of the organisation in the public interest, its strategic direction, appointments to the IASB, the ISSB, the IFRS Interpretations Committee and the IFRS Advisory Council, and ensuring the financing of the organisation and approving its budget. Trustees are expected to engage with the markets in their regional jurisdiction. Given the recent creation of the ISSB, the Trustees would particularly welcome applications from candidates with a knowledge and interest in sustainability-disclosure reporting and wider corporate reporting.

Please click for additional information in the press release on the IFRS Foundation website.

Government publishes bill to reform filing obligations for small and micro entities

07 Oct, 2022

Following initial consultation in 2019 and follow up consultation in 2020, in September 2022 the government published the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill (the Bill).

Included in the Bill are reforms to address how and what information companies report when filing their annual accounts with Companies House.  These measures are designed to simplify and increase transparency of reporting by companies, particularly small companies and micro-entities, where the existing filing framework will be been streamlined.

Under the proposals in the Bill:

  • the option to prepare and file abridged accounts will be removed;
  • the option for small companies to omit their profit and loss account and directors’ report from the filed accounts will be removed;
  • micro-entities will be required to file their profit and loss account but the option to not prepare a directors’ report will be retained; and
  • companies claiming an audit exemption will be required to include a statement by the directors on the face of the balance sheet confirming which exemption is being taken and to confirm that the company qualifies for the exemption.

The Bill also introduces additional requirements regarding company formation and names, confirmation statements and identity verification of persons with significant control. It grants additional powers to Companies House (for example over company registration, investigation and enforcement) and tightens registration and transparency requirements on limited partnerships.

Further changes are intended to be made at a later date using existing legislative powers or powers being passed through the Bill, including mandating digital filing and full tagging of financial information in iXBRL format and reducing the number of times a company can shorten its Accounting Reference Period.

The government has not indicated an effective date for the Bill and it will not take effect until it obtains Royal Assent at the earliest.

A copy of the press release, full Bill and fact sheets are available on the Government website.

EFRAG conference "Where is Corporate Reporting heading?"

06 Oct, 2022

On 7 December 2022, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) will be hosting a conference to debate the new trends in corporate reporting following the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) revolution and the connectivity with financial reporting.

High-level speakers from the financial and sustainability reporting sectors will provide their views and share thoughts during three panel discussions on major topics:

  • Connectivity: Financial and sustainability in corporate reporting
  • Financial Reporting: Challenges ahead
  • Sustainability Reporting: Trendsetting the future of corporate reporting

Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, will provide a keynote speech.

Please click for more information and registration here.

The event programme is available here.

Agenda for the October 2022 IFRS Advisory Council meeting

05 Oct, 2022

An agenda has been released for the meeting of the IFRS Advisory Council that will be held in London on 11-12 October 2022.

A summary of the agenda is set out below:

Tuesday 11 October 2022 (10:00-16:45)

  • Welcome and Chair's preview
  • Update on Trustees' activities
  • Update on IASB activities
  • Update on ISSB activities
  • Feedback from previous Advisory Council meetings
  • Update on the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board’s activities
  • ISSB agenda consultation

Wednesday 12 October 2022 (09:00-13:00)

  • Digital financial reporting
  • Capacity building
  • The IFRS Foundation’s sustainability strategy
  • Chair summary

Agenda papers for the meeting are available on the IFRS Foundation website website.

IASB announces webinars on primary financial statements project

04 Oct, 2022

On 14 October 2022, the IASB will hold two virtual webinars on the latest updates to the primary financial statements project. The webinars will be conducted by IASB technical staff members Aida Vatrenjak, Roanne Hasegawa, Juliane-Rebecca Upmeier and Nick Barlow and discuss the main proposals in the IASB’s exposure draft ‘General Presentation and Disclosures’ and key decisions made during redeliberation up to September 2022.

In addition, the project team, IASB members and ASAF members will be holding outreach meeting during October and November to obtain feedback to determine whether certain proposals are working as intended.

The two webinar will be at 9:00 and 15:00 BST. For more information, see the press release on the IFRS Foundation’s website.

A video recording is available on the IFRS Foundation's YouTube channel.

Agenda for the SMEIG October meeting

04 Oct, 2022

The next meeting of the SME Implementation Group (SMEIG) will be held on 13 October 2022.

The SMEIG will discuss the following topics:

  • Objective of the second comprehensive review
  • Concepts and basic principles
  • Fair value measurement
  • Financial instruments
  • Business combinations
  • Consolidation package
  • Revenue
  • Other topics

The papers for the meeting are available on the IFRS Foundation’s website.

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