Review of pension disclosures under IFRSs and UK GAAP

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03 Aug 2006

The United Kingdom Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) has published a study of disclosures of defined benefit pension plans under IFRSs and UK GAAP.

The review examined the 2005 pension disclosures of 20 listed groups that used IAS 19 Employee Benefits and of ten large private companies that used UK FRS 17 Retirement Benefits. The FRRP found a "high level of compliance with the detailed disclosure requirements of IAS 19, although there were some omissions," which the report describes. The FRRP concludes that the quality of pensions reporting under IFRSs could be improved by :
  • Better disclosure of the uncertainties surrounding accounting estimates
  • More consistent interpretation of what is meant by principal assumptions
  • A focus on more accessible, and less technical explanations
  • More information about non-standard types of assets held
  • Avoiding detailed disclosure of immaterial amounts
Similarly, compliance was high in respect of compliance with FRS 17, though again a number of omissions were noted. Click to (PDF 239k).

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