Deloitte partner Bruce Porter said that keeping the 2005 start date "will ensure that Australia remains at the forefront of global accounting trends".

We have updated our summary of IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement to reflect the Macro Hedging Amendments (PDF 43k) released earlier this week.

We have posted summaries of the three new IFRSs issued by the IASB earlier this week, and we have updated our summaries of two other standards, as follows:

• IFRS 3 Business Combinations
• IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts
• IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations
• IAS 36 Impairment of Assets
• IAS 38 Intangible Assets

EFRAG requests comments by 27 April 2004.

IFRS 4 was issued because the Board saw an urgent need for improved disclosures for insurance contracts, and modest improvements to recognition and measurement practices, in time for the adoption of IFRS by listed companies throughout Europe and elsewhere in 2005. In the second phase, the IASB will address broader conceptual and practical issues related to insurance accounting. The IASB will form an international insurance accounting working party of about 15 members – experts active in the insurance industry and the accounting profession, representatives of the appropriate regulatory and supervisory authorities, and investment analysts. Although the completion of any long-term solution for insurance contracts may take several years, the IASB has said it is willing to revise IFRS 4 in the short term in the light of any immediate solutions arising from the working party's discussions. The Board will announce further details of the insurance working party shortly.

The Directive now goes to the Council of Ministers for final approval. Among the provisions:

All securities issuers will have to provide annual financial reports within four months after the end of their financial year. More detailed half-yearly financial reports by share issuers will be required, based on IAS 34. The Parliament did not adopt the Commission's proposal for quarterly financial reports. Instead, the compromise Directive requires that share issuers publish interim management statements in between the annual financial report and the half-yearly financial report. These statements should include a narrative description of the financial position and of the impact of material events on that financial position. This would not apply to those share issuers who publish full quarterly financial reports. The Parliament considered but did not adopt management remuneration disclosure requirements. More information is required on related party transactions. More information will be provided by bond issuers. A mechanism will be established for assessing at EU level the equivalence between international accounting standards and non-EU country accounting standards for the purpose of allowing companies from non-EU countries to submit their national GAAP financial statements rather than IFRS statements.

Click for (PDF 79k).

An expense is recognised when the goods or services received are consumed. The FASB's proposals are generally similar to the accounting requirements in IFRS 2, though FASB would permit nonpublic (unlisted) entities to elect to use either (a) the fair-value-based method or (b) the intrinsic value method with final measurement of compensation cost at settlement date. Under the intrinsic value method, compensation cost is recognised at grant date only if the exercise price of an option is below the market price at that date. Current US GAAP (FASB Statement 123) allows companies to choose either to recognise the fair value of stock options and other share-based payment as expense or to disclose those fair values in the notes. Nonpublic entities may measure at "minimum value", which excludes a volatility factor, rather than fair value. Click for FASB News Release (PDF 18k). You can download the exposure draft from FASB's Website. Comment deadline is 30 June 2004.