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Deloitte publications update

31 Jan, 2011

The following Deloitte publications are now available:

Global publications

Deloitte (United States)

  • Heads Up Blue-Ribbon Panel Reports on Private-Company Accounting Standards (PDF 98k) - discusses the Blue-Ribbon Panel's recently issued report to the Financial Accounting Foundation, the US FASB's parent organization. The report contains recommendations on how "accounting standards can best meet the needs of users of U.S. private company financial statements".

Deloitte (Canada)

  • Clôture de 2010 (PDF 151k) – a French translation of IFRS in Focus: Closing out 2010

 

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IASB publishes exposure draft on offsetting

28 Jan, 2011

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have published for public comment joint proposals on the offsetting of financial assets and financial liabilities in the statement of financial position.

ED/2011/01 Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities proposes to require offsetting when an entity has the right to set-off a financial asset and financial liability and intends to either settle on a net basis or simultaneously.

The main proposals of the ED in detail

  • Under the proposals, an entity would be required to offset (ie present as a single net amount in the statement of financial position) a recognised financial asset and a recognised financial liability if, and only if, it has an enforceable unconditional right of set-off and intends either to settle the asset and liability on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously (the offsetting criteria).
  • The proposals clarify that the offsetting criteria apply whether the right of set-off arises from a bilateral arrangement or from a multilateral arrangement (ie between three or more parties). The proposals also clarify that a right of set-off must be legally enforceable in all circumstances (including default by or bankruptcy of a counterparty) and its exercisability must not be contingent on a future event.
  • The proposals would require an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements (such as collateral agreements) to enable users of its financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position.

The proposed requirements would supersede the requirements on offsetting in IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation. Although the proposals are broadly comparable to the requirements contained in IAS 32 currently, they would modify the offsetting criteria in IFRSs by clarifying that the right of set-off should not only be currently enforceable. Additionally, the proposal would enhance the disclosures by requiring improved information about the assets and liabilities subject to set-off and the related arrangements.

The ED has a 90-day comment period with comments due on 28 April 2011.

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Deloitte (old) Image

Deloitte publications update

28 Jan, 2011

The following Deloitte publications are now available:

Deloitte (United States)

Deloitte (Canada)

Deloitte (New Zealand)

  • Accounting Alert update (January 2011) (PDF 313k) - includes discussion of relief for some entities affected by the NZ Budget 2010 in relation to loss of tax depreciation on buildings, changes to financial instruments, management commentary, Securities Commission review of financial reporting and other topics

 

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Agenda for the February 2011 IASB meeting

27 Jan, 2011

The IASB will hold its monthly meeting for February 2011 at the IASB offices in London on 1 and 2 February 2011. The meeting are joint meetings with FASB.

You can access the agenda on our February 2011 IASB meeting page. We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available.
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Live webcasts on Offsetting

25 Jan, 2011

On Monday 31 January 2011 the IASB will be hosting two live webcasts on the financial asset and financial liability offsetting exposure draft which is expected to come out that day.

  • Topic: ED Financial Asset and Financial Liability Offsetting
  • Date and time: Monday, 31 January 2011, 10:00 GMT and repeated 15:00 GMT
  • More information on the webcast and registration: click here
  • More information on IAS Plus: Our summary of the IASB's project on Asset and liability offsetting
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    IASB podcast on progress in the Insurance Contracts project

    25 Jan, 2011

    The IASB has released a downloadable podcast in which Warren McGregor, IASB member, takes stock of the joint IASB/FASB project on Insurance Contracts.

    He summarises the discussions at the joint board meeting in January, considers the feedback received in the comment letters and provides an overview of the planned discussions at the next joint board meeting in February.

    Click for:

     

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    Financial institutions call for more climate change information

    25 Jan, 2011

    The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the Sustainable Business Institute Germany (SBI) have released a report, Advancing adaptation through climate information services – Results of a global survey on the information requirements of the financial sector.

    The report, sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, presents the results of an international survey undertaken by the Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) of the UNEP FI and the SBI. More than 60 institutions, from both developed and developing countries, took part in the survey.

    The report concludes the availability of and access to climate change information remains insufficient. It notes the increasing financial relevance of climate change and highlights the fact that insurers and lenders need better information regarding the physical and economic impacts of the world's changing weather patterns.

    The survey identified that information gaps can be closed by continued research towards more reliable climate modelling and forecasting, as well as enhanced translation of scientific knowledge and existing information into user-friendly information.

    Click for press release (link to United Nations Environment Programme website).

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    Deadline reminder – Effective Dates and Transition Methods

    25 Jan, 2011

    We remind you that comments on the Request for views: Effective Dates and Transition Methods are due on 31 January 2011. With a number of major projects planned to be completed in 2011, the IASB and FASB are seeking views on whether or how to sequence effective dates in order to reduce the burden to interested parties.

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    New publications from the IAASB on financial statement disclosures and audit quality

    24 Jan, 2011

    The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released two new documents:

    • A discussion paper, The Evolving Nature of Financial Reporting: Disclosure and Its Audit Implications, which highlights recent trends in the range, volume, and complexity of financial statement disclosures, and explores issues and practical challenges in preparing, auditing, and using them. The Discussion Paper has been prepared using the disclosures required by IFRSs as a frame of reference. Comments on the discussion paper close on 1 June 2011
    • A publication, Audit Quality: An IAASB Perspective, designed to stimulate further debate on audit quality and further the IAASB's efforts to facilitate robust audits in the public interest.

    Click for IAASB press release (link to IFAC website).

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    IASB and FASB cancel additional joint meeting on 26 January

    24 Jan, 2011

    The additional joint IASB and FASB meeting originally scheduled for Wednesday, 26 January 2011, has now been cancelled.

    Additional joint meetings remain tentatively scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, 1 and 2 February 2011. The next confirmed meeting is the regular IASB meeting to be held 14-18 February 2011.

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