The Board discussed the staff's analysis of the comment letters received on the exposure draft, Removal of Fixed Dates for First-time Adopters, published in August 2010. This exposure draft replaces the fixed date of January 1, 2004 with "the date of transition to IFRSs" in paragraphs B2 and D20 of IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Reporting Standards. The exposure draft was issued in response to the fixed transition date becoming more remote with the passage of time.

The staff noted that 37 comment letters were received on the exposure draft from a variety of respondents including financial statement preparers, standard setters, and accounting firms. All of the comment letters supported the proposed amendment to IFRS 1, with some respondents also including ancillary comments. The most relevant ancillary comments, as identified by the staff, included:

• the removal of other fixed dates in IFRS 1, specifically paragraphs D2 and D3
• the increased relevance of paragraph B3 of IFRS 1
• requests to clarify the definition of "in other words" as currently stated in paragraph B2 of IFRS 1.

The staff presented their analysis of each of the three themes of ancillary comments on the exposure draft, recommending to the Board that no action should be taken with respect to the ancillary comments provided by respondents. The Board unanimously agreed with the staff's recommendations.

The staff has also recommended that the final amendment be effective for annual periods beginning on or after July 1, 2011, with early adoption permitted. The Board unanimously agreed with the staff's recommendation.