April

World Congress of Accountants 2006 brochure

12 Apr 2006

The organising committee of the 17th World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) has released a conference brochure that provides comprehensive information about the Congress and the technical programme.

WCOA 2006 will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 13 to 16 November 2006. An estimated 5,000 delegates will attend. Click to Download the Brochure (PDF 11,510k*, 73 pages).

*Please note that the brochure is 11.5mb in size. Downloading using a modem connection may be impractical. Individual sections can be viewed online at the WCOA Website.

FEI survey finds Sarbanes-Oxley costs down 16%

11 Apr 2006

A survey conducted by Financial Executives International has found that, for those companies in their second year of compliance with Section 404 of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, year-two compliance costs down 16% from year-one costs.

Among the other key findings:
  • Auditor guidance from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board still needs clarification.
  • Compliance with Section 404 has raised investor confidence, but has done so at a price.
  • Auditor fees for all accelerated filers have declined an average of 13%.
Click for (PDF 47k).

Model 2005 IFRS financial statements in Danish

11 Apr 2006

Deloitte (Denmark) has updated the Danish-language translation of the 2005 model IFRS financial statements to reflect disclosures required by Standards/Interpretations recently issued but not yet effective.

Australia will disband its Urgent Issues Group

11 Apr 2006

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) has agreed to disband the Urgent Issues Group (UIG) and adopt a new Interpretations model in Australia under which the AASB will have direct responsibility for interpretations, with advisory panels formed on a topic-by-topic basis.

It is most likely that the new Interpretations model will have effect from 1 July 2006.

IASB April 2006 meeting agenda

11 Apr 2006

The International Accounting Standards Board will hold its April 2006 Board meeting at its offices in London on Monday 24 April 2006 (afternoon only), Tuesday 25 April 2006 (afternoon only), and Wednesday 26 April 2006. Presented below is the preliminary agenda for the meeting.

The IASB will also meet with the US Financial Accounting Standards Board in London on Thursday and Friday 27 and 28 April 2006.

agenda.gif

24-26 April 2006, London

Monday 24 April 2006 (afternoon only)

Tuesday 25 April 2006 (afternoon only)

Wednesday 26 April 2006

Thursday and Friday 27 and 28 April 2006

  • Joint meeting of the IASB and the FASB – agenda not yet announced

Comment deadline on fair value questionnaire

10 Apr 2006

We remind you that the deadline is 14 April 2006 for responding to the Joint IASB-FASB Questionnaire on Information about Changes in Fair Values of Financial Instruments.

The two Boards issued the questionnaire on 6 March 2006 to obtain input from users of financial statements about the kinds of information about fair values of financial instruments, and changes in those fair values, that is useful to those making investment or credit decisions or advising others on investment or credit decisions. For this purpose, financial instruments include not only debt securities, equity securities, and derivatives, but also loans and accounts payable or receivable, and almost any other amount payable or receivable. Click for:

EFRAG recommends adoption of IFRIC 9 in Europe

10 Apr 2006

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group has recommended that the European Commission adopt IFRIC 9 Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives for use in Europe.

Click to download EFRAG Letter (PDF 89k).

Adoption of IFRSs in Azerbaijan

09 Apr 2006

We have created a new Azerbaijan Page to report information about the use of IFRSs in Azerbaijan. Companies listed on the Baku Stock Exchange are required to report under Azerbaijani GAAP.

No IFRS reporting is allowed.
  • All local and foreign banks operating in Azerbaijan are required to produce IFRS reports. Such reports are annually submitted to the National Bank of Azerbaijan.
  • Effective from 2008 all major state owned enterprises (including major utilities and upstream oil and gas companies) are required to report under IFRSs.
  • Note however, that many companies in Azerbaijan have already adopted IFRS reporting over the past few years. The major driver behind this process is the desire to borrow from European lenders, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and KfW (the German development bank) who require audited IFRS financial statements.
  • IAS Plus website in German keeps growing

    08 Apr 2006

    Since the German Language IAS Plus Website (www.iasplus.de) went on line in February 2005, it has had over 175,000 visitors.

    Recently it is averaging between 700 and 1,000 daily visitors. It is the only website in the German-speaking region offering daily, comprehensive news about the IASB and international financial reporting. We have a permanent link from this page to www.iasplus.de in the left-side column of links.

     

    Commissioner McCreevy's comments on convergence

    08 Apr 2006

    Charlie McCreevy, the EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, spoke about (PDF 77k) at the IASCF 'convergence conference' in Frankfurt earlier this week.

    His comments centred on three areas:
    • Application of existing IFRS in the EU
    • What does 'convergence' mean?
    • Beyond convergence
    Commission McCreevy's overall conclusion:

    High quality financial reporting is fundamental for an integrated European capital market which operates effectively, smoothly and efficiently. Europe made a visionary step to require the use of IFRS: now we must see to it that they are consistently applied and interpreted across the EU so that companies can reap maximum benefit. I am a firm believer in truly global accounting standards that serve efficient capital markets around the world and we have an opportunity at the moment to ensure that the momentum towards convergence is maintained so that these benefits can be felt, not just for companies within the EU, but also for companies across the globe.

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