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

 

This follows a vote by ESMA's Board of Supervisors. Before taking up his duties, the selected Chairperson will be heard by the European Parliament who has up to one month to object to his designation.

An extract follows:

Global Convergence of U.S. GAAP and IFRS Though the timeline for convergence projects has slowed, companies are monitoring efforts of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board. All are waiting for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's next steps on whether or not it will permit International Financial Reporting Standards for U.S. publicly-held companies... The boards have a lot on their plates as they redeliberate comments from various 2010 EDs on key projects. Companies will consider how converged final standards are in 2011, especially in such areas as financial instruments. Another factor will be on transition and effective dates on key standards, which will determine how soon companies have to be prepared to report under the new standards – a challenge for companies.

Click for FEI CEO's 2011 Top Challenges for Financial Executives (link to FEI website).

One of the enhancements is a newsletter for investors. Board members Stephen Cooper, Patrick Finnegan and Patricia McConnell publish timely updates on financial reporting matters. A new issue of the Investor Perspectives is now available:

• 11 January 2011 – Patricia McConnell: The objective of financial reporting and the qualitative characteristics of useful information – what investors should know

All Investor Perspectives are archived on the IASB's website.

Materials are now available on a webpage on the treatment of risk components and on a webpage on the time value of options. The comment deadline for the exposure draft is 9 March 2011.

 

The first of the round table events is to be held on 19 January 2011 in Mumbai. The IIRC round table will be part of the "Responsible Investment: Mainstreaming of Environmental, Social, Governance Factors" event hosted by German Development Corporation (Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit, GTZ) and the India focal point of the The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

The International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) was formed in August 2010 and aims to create a globally accepted framework for accounting for sustainability, bringing together financial, environmental, social and governance information in an "integrated" format.

Click for:

• IIRC press release including event programme (link to IIRC website)
• GTZ press release (link to GTZ website)
• Our sustainability reporting page

 

The proposed standard addresses the practitioner's responsibilities in identifying, assessing, and responding to risks of material misstatement, and contains illustrative assurance reports on greenhouse gas statements. The proposed requirements and guidance also recognize that most engagements will be undertaken by a multidisciplinary team, so they address the need for the assurance practitioner to integrate experts – in engineering or environmental science, for example – into various stages of the engagement. Comments on the exposure draft are requested by 10 June 2011.

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

 

• Administrative matters
• Committee work in progress
• Accounting for production phase stripping costs in the mining industry
• Review of Tentative Agenda Decisions published in November IFRIC Update
• IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets – Inclusion of own credit risk in discount rate
• IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation – Put options written over non-controlling interests
• New items for initial consideration
• IFRS 3 Business Combinations and IAS 39 Financial Instruments Recognition and Measurement – Hedging the foreign exchange risk in a business combination
• IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors – Hierarchy of guidance to select an accounting policy
• IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment and IAS 38 Intangible Assets – Contingent pricing of PPE and intangible assets
• Annual improvements
• Annual improvements criteria – comment letter analysis
• Items for continuing consideration
• IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements – Current/non-current classification of debt (rollover agreements)

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.

Warren McGregor, IASB member, summarises the discussions at the joint December Board meeting, considers the feedback received on the exposure draft/discussion paper and provides an overview of the planned discussions in January.

Click for:

• Access to the IASB podcast (link to IASB website)
• Our IAS Plus summary of the IASB's project on insurance contracts

 

The FRC's report, 'Effective Company Stewardship: Enhancing Corporate Reporting and Audit', contains seven key recommendations including the recommendations that companies should take advantage of technological developments to increase the accessibility of the annual report and its components and that there should be greater investor involvement in the process by which auditors are appointed. The overall aim of the recommendations is to provide more balanced and comprehensive information to investors. Click for FRC press release and the FRC's report(both links to FRC website).