Discount rates - Agenda paper 17

Background

The purpose of this session was to ask the Board whether any further work was needed to conclude the research project on discount rates. AP 17A summarises the research findings that were presented in detail to the Board in the January 2016 meeting. It also lists various matters for the Staff to consider in future standard-setting activities relating to discount rates and present value measurement, which are incorporated in AP 17B in which the Staff discusses how they aim to make use of the research findings.

This project started in June 2014 with the Board discussing the research findings from September 2015 to April 2016. In light of the input received on the 2015 Agenda Consultation and the Board’s then review of its priorities, the Board expected that the project would conclude without any further significant work.

Staff recommendation

The Staff recommended that the Board:

• (a) not seek feedback from the public on the research outputs; and
• (b) conclude the research project with no further work.

Next steps

The Staff plans to hold an educational session with the Board in the next few months on low and negative discount rates.

Discussion

The Board approved the Staff recommendations without any technical debate. The discussion centred on how to communicate the research findings internally and how to make sure the Staff use it in future activities, as well as to highlight the fact that the discount rate is not an island but interacts inextricably with measurement considerations.