The staff presented a summary of the comments received on the ED Simplifying Earnings per Share. There was no substantive discussion of this presentation.

Plan for redeliberation

The majority of the discussion concerned whether to continue, delay, or discontinue the project. The staff noted that many respondents recommended either stopping the project or, at least, delaying it until the Board finalises the projects on financial instruments with characteristics of equity and financial statements presentation.

The Board was divided. Some thought that the ED's proposals were a significant improvement over existing guidance and that the work on convergence should not be lost. Others were concerned that any work on EPS at all was wasted effort. Other Board members noted real constraints on staff resources.

Ultimately, the Board did not favour discontinuing the project. It did agree, however, to suspend work on the project until the Consolidation project was complete (the staff resources are the same), at which time work would continue to finalise the proposals in the ED.