Effective Date

The Board agreed that the effective date for the Improvement standards would be 1 January 2005 with earlier application encouraged. The Board noted that publication of the standards will commence in the middle of 2003.

IAS 8

The staff stated that various commentators had requested guidance on the application of materiality. The Board agreed and asked the staff to draft proposed paragraphs. Some Board members expressed concern whether these paragraphs should be in IAS 1 or IAS 8. The staff will consider this and make a proposal to the Board.

The staff proposed a redrafting of the hierarchy in IAS 8 to address concerns around going to other standard setters' pronouncements for further detailed guidance on issues addressed directly in an IASB standard and issues for which an IFRS answer can be found by analogy to other IASB standards or the Framework. The Board stated its view that other standard setters' pronouncements should be used only when an answer cannot be found either directly in or by analogy to an IASB standard or the Framework. The Board asked its staff to redraft the wording to clarify this matter and to consider similar guidance issued by the Canadian standard setter.