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Companies House issues advice on filing deadlines in light of Covid-19

24 Mar, 2020

In light of the impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19) on companies, Companies House has issued guidance on delaying filing deadlines.

Companies wishing to seek an extension should apply before the filing deadline – a delay of up to three months can be requested.

Details are available here including a link to apply online and details of how to apply by post.

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IASB issues podcast on latest Board developments (March 2020)

24 Mar, 2020

The IASB has released a podcast, featuring IASB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd, to discuss the deliberations at the March IASB meeting.

The podcast features dis­cus­sions related to:

  • IFRS 17 and the extension of its effective date.
  • Management commentary.
  • Rate-regulated activities.

In addition, Vice-Chair Lloyd comments on the Discussion Paper Business Combinations — Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment.

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 March IASB meeting.

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2020 issued and annotated issued IFRS Standards now available

24 Mar, 2020

The IFRS Foundation announces that the annual publication formerly known as the 'Red Book' is now available.

The Issued IFRS Standards 2020 publication contains the Standards as approved by the International Accounting Standards Board for issue up to 31 December 2019. These Standards include changes that are not yet required at 1 January 2020. The Annotated Issued IFRS Standards 2020 includes the same content as Issued IFRS Standards 2020, but with additional annotations containing extensive cross-references, explanatory notes and IFRS Interpretations Committee agenda decisions.

The books are available in electronic format for subscribers to eIFRS Professional. Printed copies of the books are available for sale through the IASB's web shop.

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Joint goodwill research paper by ASBJ and HKICPA

24 Mar, 2020

The Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA Staff) have jointly published a research paper 'Goodwill: Improvements to Subsequent Accounting and an Update of the Quantitative Study'.

The research paper presents recent results of quantitative studies on goodwill, updated from the ASBJ's 2016 quantitative study on goodwill. The standard-setters observe that it is likely that impairment losses on goodwill are recognised too late.

Based on this observation, the research paper discusses the subsequent accounting for acquired goodwill. It presents the conclusion that acquired goodwill should be amortised over time on a systematic basis, and the cash generating unit(s) to which acquired goodwill is attributed should be tested for impairment when there is an indication of impairment.

Last week, the IASB published a discussion paper on goodwill and impairment with the preliminary view that the Board should retain the impairment only approach because there is no compelling evidence that amortisation would significantly improve financial reporting.

Please click to access the research paper on the ASBJ website.

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IFRS Foundation appoints new IFRS Interpretations Committee member

23 Mar, 2020

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the appointment of Dr Jens Freiberg as IFRS Interpretations Committee member.

Dr Freiberg, Head of BDO Germany’s Accounting Advisory and Technical Accounting Groups, is a former member of the IFRS Advisory Council and was a member of the IFRS Committee of the German standard-setter DRSC. He is also a member of the TRG for IFRS 17.

The appointment, effective immediately, is until 30 June 2022.

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

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ICAEW publishes a guide on the financial reporting impacts of Coronavirus

23 Mar, 2020

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has published a guide on the financial reporting impacts of Coronavirus.

The guide, which is primarily directed at those preparing accounts under FRS 102, covers:

  • going concern;
  • reflecting conditions which existed at the balance sheet date;
  • non-adjusting post balance sheet events;
  • the Directors' Report and/or Strategic report;
  • 2020 year ends;
  • post balance sheet review period; and
  • considerations for micro entities.

A press release and the guide is available on the ICAEW website.  The ICAEW has also published from its Financial Reporting Faculty:

  • a guide for IFRS reporters available on the ICAEW website here.
  • a checklist for FRS 102 reporters available on the ICAEW website here.
  • a checklist for FRS 105 reporters available on the ICAEW website here
  • a guide, primarily aimed at FRS 102 reporters, to help them distinguish between adjusting and non-adjusting post balance sheet events in light of COVID-19.  It is available on the ICAEW website here.
  • guidance on going concern for FRS 102 reporters available here.
  • guidance on reverse stress testing available here.
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IASB releases podcast on IFRS 17

23 Mar, 2020

The IASB has released a podcast featuring IASB member Darrel Scott and technical staff member Chalani Mohotti as they discuss the developments at the March 2020 Board meeting related to the amendments to IFRS 17 'Insurance Contracts'.

Specifically, the podcast discusses the Board’s decisions related to effective date of IFRS 17 and the expiry date of the IFRS 9 temporary exemption in IFRS 4.

The podcast can be accessed through the press release on the IASB website. Our summary of the meeting and the results of the IASB's votes is available here.

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Coronavirus crisis: Implications on reporting and auditing and resources for accountants

23 Mar, 2020

Accountancy Europe has released an article exploring coronavirus’ effects. In addition, Accountancy Europe is collecting all resources relevant for European professional accountants.

Please click to access the following information on the Accountancy Europe website.

The article explores coronavirus’ effects on:

  • accounting and reporting for companies as of 31 December 2019,
  • accounting and reporting for companies with year-ends in 2020,
  • auditing financial statements on 31 December 2019 and beyond, and
  • practical matters for the audit of financial statements.

The list of resources relevant for European professional accountants will be updated regularly.

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Updated IASB work plan — Analysis (March 2020)

21 Mar, 2020

Following the IASB's March 2020 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 February 2020. Changes are few.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 28 February 2020.

Standard-setting projects

  • No changes

Maintenance projects

  • No changes - the work plan still shows final amendments to IAS 16 regarding proceeds before intended use to be expected in "March 2020"

Research projects

  • Goodwill and impairment — A discussion paper was published earlier this week; the feedback received will be discussed in the second half of 2020
  • Post-implementation Review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12 — due to the reduced agenda for the March meeting, the research review has been rescheduled to April 2020 (previously March 2020)

Other projects

  • IFRS Taxonomy 2019 — Update 1 Interest Rate Benchmark Reform (Amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39 and IFRS 7) was published earlier this week and has therefore been removed from the work plan.

The above is a faithful comparison of the IASB work plan at 28 February 2020 and at 21 March 2020. For access to the current IASB work plan at any time, please click here.

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March 2020 IASB meeting notes posted

20 Mar, 2020

The IASB met on Tuesday 17 and Thursday 19 March 2020, by video link. The meeting was cut to three topics because of the Covid-19 pandemic. We have posted our comprehensive Deloitte observer notes for all projects discussed during the meeting.

Rate-regulated Activities: The staff have been drafting the ED for the accounting model for regulatory assets and regulatory liabilities since last July. The Board decided to clarify whether some components included in the regulated rates in a period form part of total allowed compensation for the goods or services supplied by an entity in the same period or in a different period. In particular, the Board decided to clarify whether regulatory returns and performance incentives included in the regulated rates for a period form part of the total allowed compensation for to the goods or services supplied in the same period.

Management Commentary: The Board continued its discussions about the objective of management commentary, and decided that it should support primary users in assessing an entity’s prospects of future cash flows and assessing management’s stewardship of the entity’s economic resources. The primary users are existing and potential investors, lenders and other creditors and they are expected to have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities. The staff also introduced their thinking on developing disclosure objectives for various types of content to be included in management commentary.

Amendments to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts: The Board decided to defer the effective date of IFRS 17 (incorporating the amendments) to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023 and to extend the fixed expiry date of the temporary exemption from applying IFRS 9 in IFRS 4 to the same date. The staff expect that the amendments will be issued in the second quarter of 2020.

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

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