The IIRC notes that the B20 group of businesses indicated in its Infrastructure & Investment Taskforce Policy Summary that it supports a review by the IIRC and IASB in relation to making corporate reporting more conducive to infrastructure and other long-term investment and eliminating or addressing current barriers.  The IIRC is calling on the G20 to echo this support and push for action at a national level to align the principles of corporate reporting to the objectives of economic policy, in particular to the promotion of long-term investment, as part of the conclusions to the November 2014 G20 summit.

The October edition of the IIRC newsletter, which includes this recommendation, can be obtained from the IIRC website.

In its response to the EC questionnaire, the FRC agrees that the objectives of the IAS regulation are still valid and that it has furthered the move towards establishing a set of globally accepted high-quality standards.  It also believes that the IAS regulation has led to a significant increase in the transparency of the consolidated financial statements of EU companies listed on regulated markets and in the comparability of companies' financial statements.  This in turn has significantly increased the effectiveness of capital markets, making it easier and cheaper for companies to access capital and improving protection for investors.

The FRC believes that the current EU endorsement process for IFRSs remains appropriate.  In response to the recommendations of the Maystadt report, the FRC considers that assessment of whether accounting standards adopted endanger the financial stability or hinder the economic development of the EU could be undertaken as part of the existing requirement that IFRS adopted in the EU “are conducive to the European public good” and that accordingly the existing endorsement criteria do not need to be modified.  In addition, the FRC recommends that the assessment of public good should take into account factors such as:

• the benefit to EU companies from access to global capital markets; and
• acknowledgement that the objectives of prudential and capital market regulation can run contrary to one another.

The FRC also strongly believes that the current limitation in the IAS regulation on the EC's freedom to modify the content of IFRSs is appropriate and do not consider that this should be altered.  In its view, to allow the EC more leeway in this area is likely to seriously undermine progress towards high-quality global accounting standards.

The FRC's full response to the consultation can be downloaded from their website.

In particular, the outreach event will focus on the following questions:

• “Is there a need for a special standard for rate-regulated activities?
• Should balances arising out of rate-regulated activities be included in the balance sheet or is note disclosure a better way forward?
• How is the performance of rate-regulated activities best reflected?
• What corrections/adjustments are analysts making to the financial statements of companies with rate-regulated activities?”

Registration for this event is requested by 12 December 2014.

For more information, see the press release on the EFRAG website.

As stated in the Terms of Reference, “[a]ll aspects of ASAF and its operations shall be reviewed by the IFRS Foundation two years after the establishment of the group (as from the date of signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)).” The questionnaire is the first step in assessing how the ASAF has performed in relation to its Terms of Reference and Memorandum of Understanding.

The IFRSF expects to publish a feedback statement detailing the findings and actions from the review after the Trustees and IASB have had time to consider the findings. It is expected to be issued mid-2015. Participants are requested to complete the questionnaire by 9 January 2015.

For more information, see the press release on the IASB’s website.

In July, the FCA consulted on proposals to remove mandatory quarterly reporting for companies covered by the DTR. The majority of respondents to the consultation were in favour of the FCA's proposals and so the FCA has now implemented this change through the publication of PS14/15.  At the moment the removal of the requirement for IMSs is only effective for issuers of shares admitted to trading on a regulated market where the UK acts as home Member State and the FCA’s DTRs apply.  Other issuers will have to wait until November 2015 when the revised EU transparency directive, which is the enabling legislation for this change, will be fully implemented on a pan-European basis.

At a detailed level, the amendments to the DTR:

• Remove the requirements in DTR 4.3 completely
• Remove DTR 4.4.6R and DTR 6.3.5R(3)(C) which will become obsolete
• Make consequential amendments to other rules in the DTR that refer to IMSs.

The press release and full policy statement can be downloaded from the FCA website.

In the response to the European Commission's questionnaire, ESMA agrees with most respondents that the adoption of IFRSs has made companies' financial statements in the EU significantly more transparent and comparable and was over all beneficial. ESMA states that continuous commitment to the use of IFRS is the most appropriate approach in the context of global markets and a growing use of IFRS around the world.

However, ESMA remains critical of the EFRAG reform and maintains that the responsibility for giving endorsement advice to the European Commission "can only be entrusted to a public body that has the duty to protect the public interest". The Maystadt report had originally recommended that the new EFRAG Board should consist of three pillars with one of them being European public institutions (ESMA, EBA, EIOPA and ECB). However, given that they believe that endorsement advice should entirely rest with public institutions, the European Supervisory Authorities and the ECB have declined full membership and will only be observers on the new Board.

ESMA also disagrees with many respondents in believing that two new endorsement criteria (that any accounting standards adopted should not jeopardise the EU's financial stability and that they must not hinder the EU's economic development) should be added to the IAS Regulation. Again, ESMA argues from a public interest and public good perspective. ESMA also adds that in pre-consultation with national enforcers, some proposed a specific consideration of transparency as part of the endorsement criteria.

Please click to download the full response (link to ESMA website). The endorsement mechanism and criteria are subject of questions 21 and 22.

The newsletter “Setting the Standard” covers the following key areas: 

• A review of recent European developments, including an overview of the process for EU adoption of IFRSs, the transformation of EFRAG and the European Commission's current review of the IAS Regulation.
• Current activity around the 'Clear and concise' initiative. The newsletter highlights the recently published guidance on the preparation of a Strategic Report ‘Guidance on the Strategic Report’ and discusses some of the barriers in this area, such as disclosure requirements introduced through regulation.
• The FRC’s contribution to the International Accounting Standard Board’s (IASB’s) work to develop improvements to IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows, the new leasing standard and the IASB Disclosure Initiative.
• Recent activity of the Financial Reporting Lab including the publication of the report 'Towards Clear and Concise Reporting' and of the annual reminders for the 2014 reporting season.
• The issuance of the consultation document Accounting standards for small entities: Implementation of the EU Accounting Directive. The newsletter highlights that, under the new regime, which is expected to be effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016, small entities will be included within the scope of FRS 102, with a new Section 1A Small Entities setting out the presentation and disclosure requirements that apply to them.
• The release of XBRL Accounts Taxonomies for FRS 101, FRS 102 and full EU-adopted IFRS. 
• The publication of the findings of the Conduct Committee's Corporate Reporting Review. The newsletter highlights that generally, and particularly for larger public companies, the quality of reporting is good, but a number of areas for improvement have been identified.
• A brief biography of two of the current members of the Accounting Council.

Please click here for the full newsletter on the FRC website.

The reform of the GRI structure, which will be implemented by 31 January 2015, has six main objectives:

• Standard-setting activities and all other organisational activities are to be strictly separated.
• The global multi-stakeholder principle is to be kept.
• The due process for standards development is to be strengthened.
• An independent public funding base for GRI's standard-setting activities is to be established (separate from the funding of other organisational activities).
• All meeting agendas, papers and minutes are to be made available on the website.
• A separate governance structure for standard-setting is to be implemented.

The separate governance structure to be implemeted will include three new bodies. The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) will develop and approve the Sustainability Reporting Standards; the Due Process Oversight Committee (DPOC) will safeguard the application of the due process protocol; the Independent Appointments Committee (IAC) will appoint qualified, independent individuals to the GSSB and DPOC.

Please click for more information in the press release on the GRI website.

Among the proposals are:

• Restructuring the code to more clearly distinguish requirements from guidance;
• reorganising the content of the code, including rebranding the code, or parts thereof, as international standards;
• identifying responsibility for compliance with the code in particular circumstances; and
• simplifying the wording of the Code so that it can be more readily understood.

The proposals are open for comment until 4 February 2015. The consultation paper can be accessed through the press release on the IFAC website.