Research Programme - Research update - Agenda paper 8

Background

The Board made the following decisions in May 2016:

• a) Eight projects remain on the Board’s active plan (appendix B). The projects are: (1) disclosure initiative- principles of disclosures; (2) primary financial statements; (3) business combinations under common control; (4) Dynamic risk management; (5) Financial instruments with characteristics of equity; (6) goodwill and impairment; (7) discount rates; and 8) Share-based payments.
• b) Four projects for which no further research is planned (Appendix C). The projects are: 1) foreign currency translation; 2) high inflation; 3) income taxes; and 4) post-employment benefits.
• c) Eight projects to be included in the Board’s pipeline (Appendix D). The projects are: 1) equity method; 2) pollutant pricing mechanisms; 3) provisions; 4) extractive activities; and 5) variable and contingent consideration. The remaining three projects are to be start as a feasibility study: 1) high inflation; 2) post-employment benefits that depend on assets return; and 3) SMEs that are subsidiaries.

The staff explained in each of the appendices presented a summary of the project and comments on the latest decisions made.

The Board was not asked to make technical decisions. This session was an opportunity for the Board to ask the staff questions about the projects and the research programme in general.

Discussion

No significant comment or issue was raised during the discussion. In response to questions from Board members the staff clarified that:

• in some cases, even though no formal work would be carried out, the staff would create a document to summarise the work done so that it can be accessible to users and clearly document the research done (for example in share-based payments);
• in other cases, for example in foreign currency, the staff would document the research conducted by the Korean Accounting Standard Board;
• on income tax, they will document the analysis discussed at the education session;
• they are conducting a feasibility study for high inflation;
• they still need to conduct more analyse to determine the next steps in relation to discount rate (including negative interest rates).
• whether or not a research project would be conducted before going into a PIR project would depend on the nature of the issue.

Board members also said that it was important that the research was accessible, and preserved, on the IFRS website.