November

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Reminder about upcoming IFRS Beyond 2005 conference

13 Nov 2003

IASB Chairman Sir David Tweedie will be among the speakers at the upcoming conference on Europe and IFRS Beyond 2005.

The conference is sponsored by Deloitte and the IASB will take place in Paris on 3 and 4 December 2003. Other speakers include Rene Ricol, Chairman of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and IASB members James Leisenring and Gilbert Gelard. For more information, please download the:
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Comment deadline on macro hedging ED is tomorrow

13 Nov 2003

Reminder: Comments are due at the IASB tomorrow (14 November 2003) on the IASB exposure draft Fair Value Hedge Accounting for a Portfolio Hedge of Interest Rate Risk .

Reminder: Comments are due at the IASB tomorrow (14 November 2003) on the IASB exposure draft Fair Value Hedge Accounting for a Portfolio Hedge of Interest Rate Risk

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Details of IASCF constitution review are announced

13 Nov 2003

The Trustees of the IASC Foundation (IASCF), under which the IASB operates, have released details of the review of the IASCF constitution that was discussed at their 4 November meeting (see our news story of 7 November below).

The constitution sets out the operating procedures of the Foundation and the IASB and requires that the constitution be reviewed every five years.

IASC Foundation Constitution Review

Scope and consultation. The review will cover "the full range of issues raised by the constitution" and that they will be consulting a wide range of organisations, including international and regional organisations, securities regulators, other international regulatory organisations, accounting standard-setters, organisations representing the accountancy profession, organisations representing business groups, analyst groups and other investment organisations, academic groups, and the Standards Advisory Council. Review committee. The committee to oversee the review will be chaired by Paul Volcker, chairman of the IASC Foundation Trustees. Committee members are IASCF Trustees John Biggs, Roberto Teixeira a Costa, Toru Hashimoto, Cornelius Herkstroter, Philip Laskawy, and Sir Sydney Lipworth. Invitation to comment. The Trustees have published an Invitation to Comment setting out the issues for the constitution review. Written comments are sought by 11 February 2004. You can download the Invitation to Comment from the IASB website. IASCF press release. Click to Download (PDF 28k).

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US Senate hearings today on stock option accounting

12 Nov 2003

The Securities and Investment Subcommittee of the US Senate Banking Committee is today holding a Public Hearing titled "The Financial Accounting Standards Board and Small Business Growth".

FASB Chairman Robert Herz is among those testifying. The hearing relates to a bill that would force a 3-year study period before the SEC could accept any changes to accounting for stock options. A similar bill has been introduced in the US House of Representatives. The IASB has proposed to require recognition of the fair value of Share-Based Compensation as an expense, and the FASB recently voted to issue an exposure draft with a similar proposal (see our news story of 30 October 2003).
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Comparison of Singapore GAAP and IFRS

12 Nov 2003

Deloitte & Touche (Singapore) has published an update of the New Financial Reporting Framework in Singapore, which includes a comparison of Singapore GAAP and IFRS.

In 2002, the Singapore government created the Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance (CCDG) to replace the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore as the accounting standard setter in Singapore. The CCDG has now issued a set of accounting standards and interpretations that are almost identical to the current set of International Financial Reporting Standards, with the exception of effective dates, the inclusion of Singapore Financial Reporting Standard 25, Accounting for Investments, and the absence of an equivalent to IAS 40, Investment Property:
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Q3 2003 Accounting Roundup newsletter

11 Nov 2003

During the third quarter of 2003, accounting standards-setters and accounting regulators issued a number of final and proposed SFASs, SOPs, IFRSs, EITF consensuses, SEC rules, and PCAOB rules and standards affecting accounting practice, financial reporting, and corporate governance.

Accounting Roundup: Third Quarter 2003 presents brief descriptions of those pronouncements, as well as certain other regulatory and professional developments in accounting and financial reporting that may affect the preparation of financial statements. The articles in this quarterly edition of the Deloitte Accounting Roundup newsletter were drawn primarily from the Accounting Roundup newsletters dated 5 and 25 August 2003, 15 September 2003, and 14 October 2003, and have been updated where appropriate.
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Agenda for the upcoming Advisory Council meeting

11 Nov 2003

The IASB will meet with the Standards Advisory Council on 20 and 21 November 2003 at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel, 252 High Holborn, London, United Kingdom.

Agenda topics are:

AGENDA FOR STANDARDS ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING20-21 NOVEMBER 2003

  • IASB Chairman's Report
  • Update on IASB Priorities
  • Reporting Comprehensive Income (Performance Reporting)
  • Transition to IFRSs
  • Share-based Payment
  • Business Combinations Phase I
  • Business Combinations Phase II - full goodwill measurement issues and the relevance of full goodwill
  • Insurance Contracts Phases I and II
  • Accounting and Financial Reporting by Small and Medium-Sized Entities
  • Measurement
  • Education Update
  • IASCF Constitutional Update
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IASB will not meet on 17 November 2003

10 Nov 2003

The November 2003 meeting of the IASB, originally announced for 17-19 November, will now be held only on 18-19 November at the Board's offices in London.

The agenda for the meeting has expanded from that previously announced (news story 4 November 2003) and now will include the following topics:
  • Business Combinations Phase I
  • Business Combinations Phase II
  • Employee Benefits - Pensions
  • Improvements - IAS 17 and IAS 40
  • Insurance Contracts Phase I
  • Insurance Contracts Phase II
  • Leases
  • Reporting Comprehensive Income
  • Share-Based Payment - Tax Issue
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IASB trustees will undertake a constitution review

07 Nov 2003

At their meeting in Brussels on 4 November 2003, the trustees of the IASC Foundation (which oversees the IASB) announced the appointment of a committee to review the IASB's constitution.

The committee held its first meeting on 3 November 2003. Presented below is our unofficial summary of the discussion of the constitutional review at the trustees' meeting. The trustees' agenda also included a comprehensive Report on IASB Activities (PDF 99k) from IASB Chairman Sir David Tweedie and discussion of the IASB's education programme with the new Director of Education Elizabeth Hickey.

IASC Foundation Constitution Review

At its 3 November 2003 meeting, the constitution review committee felt it was important to announce the existence of the committee. The procedures and timetable were also decided. Meetings would generally be open, with proposals published prior to decisions being made. A list of topics to be examined will be issued quickly without comment on the relative importance of each, though the committee recognised that some additional questions might arise in the course of their work.

The committee felt that transparency is essential. The trustees discussed staffing for the review and concluded that at most one additional staff member could be funded. They discussed, without conclusion, whether there should be an advisory board. While such a board would provide a good sounding board, some trustees were concerned that an advisory board might assume some of the power of the review committee itself. The matter of duplication of effort of the review committee and the advisory board was also discussed.

Trustees noted that the Constitution is detailed and rule based. They discussed whether it provides for sufficient representation by analysts and preparers of accounts. They noted that it is sometimes difficult to get these parties involved in IASB activities and that this issue can not be resolved in the constitution.

Trustees noted that the constitution includes a list of organisations which the IASB should consult, but some important groups (such as the Basel Committee) are not included. However the IASB Chairman noted that while the wording needed to be altered slightly, the list was not meant to be exhaustive and did not preclude consultation with other groups.

We have created a new Page on IASPlus to track the progress of the constitution review.

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Two EFRAG comment letters posted

06 Nov 2003

We have posted links to the two most recent comment letters to the IASB from the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group: (1) ED 4 'Disposal of Non-Current Assets and Presentation of Discontinued Operations' (2) ED 5 'Insurance Contracts' .

Click for:

  • ED 4, Disposal of Non-Current Assets and Presentation of Discontinued Operations (PDF 50k).
  • ED 5, Insurance Contracts (PDF 145k).

 

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