ICAS/NZICA disclosure report – Education session
The Boards hosted a presentation by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) to provide the results of their joint project with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants in which they conducted a study on reducing disclosures in financial reporting. Those standards in the scope of this project included IFRSs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 and IASs 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 33, 36, 37, 38, 40 and 41.
The study started with a review of the conceptual framework. Their recommendations include:
- adding a disclosure principle where one did not exist
- deleting those disclosures that are 'encouraged'
- replacing many detailed reconciliations with a summary of material changes
- removing unchanged accounting principles from financial statements and instead reference to website or other location
- emphasise materiality throughout and using 'not material' rather than 'immaterial'.
The group estimates that there recommendations would result in an overall 30% reduction in the number of pages in the financial statements. They suggested the Board package the report as an outreach document to solicit constituent feedback.
The Boards commended the group for their efforts. Some of the Board members were supportive of the groups' recommendations while other Board members (particularly representatives of the user community) expressed reservations with the proposals, in particular the removal of the account reconciliations. The IASB Chairman said the Board would discuss how to proceed with the report at a future Board meeting.
Related Topics
- IAS 1 — Presentation of Financial Statements
- IAS 10 — Events After the Reporting Period
- IAS 12 — Income Taxes
- IAS 16 — Property, Plant and Equipment
- IAS 19 — Employee Benefits (2011)
- IAS 2 — Inventories
- IAS 21 — The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates
- IAS 23 — Borrowing Costs
- IAS 24 — Related Party Disclosures
- IAS 29 — Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies
- IAS 33 — Earnings Per Share
- IAS 36 — Impairment of Assets
- IAS 37 — Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets
- IAS 38 — Intangible Assets
- IAS 40 — Investment Property
- IAS 41 — Agriculture
- IAS 7 — Statement of Cash Flows
- IAS 8 — Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors
- IFRS 1 — First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards
- IFRS 2 — Share-based Payment
- IFRS 3 — Business Combinations
- IFRS 5 — Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations
- IFRS 6 — Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources
- IFRS 7 — Financial Instruments: Disclosures
- IFRS 8 — Operating Segments
- IAS 20 — Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance