August

IFRIC proposes guidance on pension accounting

25 Aug 2006

The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) has published draft Interpretation D19 'IAS 19 – The Asset Ceiling: Availability of Economic Benefits and Minimum Funding Requirements'.

IFRIC D19 would clarify the interaction between statutory or contractual minimum funding requirements and the requirements of IAS 19 Employee Benefits.

The proposals clarify how to determine the limit on a pension plan asset that may be recognised in an employer's balance sheet as well as how the pensions asset or liability may be affected when there is a statutory or contractual minimum funding requirement.

IFRIC D19 may be downloaded from IASB's Website. Comment deadline is 31 October 2006. Click for Press Release (PDF 64k).

 

EFRAG is forming a user advisory panel

24 Aug 2006

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is seeking candidates for membership on a new User Panel that it plans to form.

The panel will be asked to provide input from the financial statement user community on draft EFRAG comment letters, endorsement advice to the European Commission, and other EFRAG activities. The User Panel will meet for one day every three months in Brussels. Candidates for the User Panel should be actively working as users of financial statements, including financial analysts and investors taking investment decisions. Applications should be sent to EFRAG at info@efrag.org no later than 20 September 2006. Click for User Panel Terms of Reference (PDF 27k).

Where do IAS Plus visitors come from?

23 Aug 2006

Cumulatively, since we started tracking in May 2003, the top 10 jurisdictions from which visitors to IAS Plus come are United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Hong Kong, China, France, Australia, Malaysia, Italy, and The Netherlands.

An interesting phenomenon is the gradual shift in visitors away from Europe and more toward Asia-Pacific, where IFRSs are gradually being adopted. For example:
  • In July 2006 the top 10 visitor jurisdictions included Hong Kong, China, and Malaysia. None of those three was in the top 10 in July 2004.
  • In July 2004, the top 10 referrers included Google France and Google Italy. By July 2006 those two countries were replaced by Google Philippines and Google Malaysia. And Google Canada has replaced MSN: Canada has announced a plan to replace current Canadian GAAP with IFRSs.
Click here to view a Cumulative Map of Where our Visitors Have Come From over the past three years (PDF 43k).

New IFAC paper on internal controls

23 Aug 2006

The International Federation of Accountants has published a paper on Internal Controls – A Review of Current Developments.

The paper, developed by IFAC's Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee, summarises key internal control frameworks, highlights recent legislative and other initiatives, and discusses the role of internal control in enhancing corporate governance.

"The paper finds that current views on internal controls support a principles- and market-based approach in which organizations make a commitment to develop internal control systems particular to their own specific internal and external environments. It also identifies the importance of the tone at the top and the culture and ethical framework throughout the organization to the effective implementation of an internal control system."

The paper may be downloaded without charge (registration required) from IFAC's Website. Click for Press Release (PDF 80k, 19 pages).

Two publications from IFAC education board

22 Aug 2006

IFAC's International Accounting Education Standards Board has published two documents: Proposed new guidance outlining the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare professional accountants to perform competently in one or more information technology roles.

Those roles could include:
  • Assurance provider and evaluator, such as an internal financial or operational auditor or evaluator of information systems;
  • Manager of information systems, such as a knowledge manager or data center manager; and
  • Designer of business systems, alone or as part of team, such as a knowledge engineer, external advisor or consultant.
The proposal is in the form of an exposure draft entitled Information Technology for Professional Accountants. Click for Press Release (PDF 84k)
  • An information paper on Approaches to the Development and Maintenance of Professional Values, Ethics and Attitudes in Accounting Education Programs. The paper will serve as the basis for the development of an International Education Practice Statement on this topic. Click for Press Release (PDF 82k).
  • Both of the foregoing press releases have hyperlinks so you can obtain the underlying document from IFAC.

    EU amends 4th and 7th directives

    20 Aug 2006

    > On 16 August 2006, the European Union published in the Official Journal of the EU a new Directive 2006/46/EC on the annual and consolidated accounts of certain types of companies, including banks, insurance undertakings, and other financial institutions.

    The new directive modifies the 4th and 7th company law directives ('accounting directives' 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC), and also the accounting directives for banks (86/635/EEC) and insurance undertakings (91/674/EEC). It establishes collective responsibility of board members for the financial statements and annual reports, enhances transparency in related parties?transactions and off-balance sheet arrangements, and, for publicly traded companies, introduces a requirement for a corporate governance statement. The size thresholds for exempting small and medium-sized entities from specified accounting and auditing rules were also raised. The new Directive comes into law 20 days after publication in the Official Journal. EU member states then have two years to enact the provisions of the new directive into their national legislation. Click for (PDF 63k).

    IFRS presentation and disclosure checklist 2006

    20 Aug 2006

    We have posted Deloitte's new for the year ended 31 December 2006 (PDF 1,181k).

    This checklist addresses the presentation and disclosure requirements of IFRSs in issue at 30 June 2006. It does not address the requirements of IFRSs as regards recognition and measurement. The checklist is formatted to allow the recording of a review of financial statements, with a place to indicate yes/no/not-applicable for each presentation and disclosure item. You can always find Deloitte's model IFRS financial statements, IFRS presentation and disclosure checklists, and IFRS compliance questionnaires Here.

    IFRIC will meet 7-8 September 2006

    19 Aug 2006

    The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) will meet at the IASB's offices in London on Thursday 7 September and Friday 8 September 2006. The agenda will be announced shortly. .

    The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) will meet at the IASB's offices in London on Thursday 7 September and Friday 8 September 2006. The agenda will be announced shortly.

    Update on accounting standards in Morocco

    18 Aug 2006

    Following consultation with the banking and finance industry, the Central Bank of Morocco (Bank Al Maghrib) is developing a regulation that is expected to require Moroccan banks and other financial institutions to prepare their 2008 consolidated financial statements using International Financial Reporting Standards.

    Currently, the Moroccan Stock Exchange Law requires all companies listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange other than banks and financial institutions to choose between IFRSs and Moroccan GAAP.

     

    Update on accounting standards in Vietnam

    15 Aug 2006

    We have updated our Vietnam Page with the latest information about Vietnamese Accounting Standards (VASs), including a list of VASs currently in force.

    VASs have been developed by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) based on IASs issued prior to 2003. The MOF is considering a proposal to grant rights to the Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants (VACPA) to formulate and update Vietnamese Accounting Standards. You will find links to all of our jurisdiciton pages Here.

    Correction list for hyphenation

    These words serve as exceptions. Once entered, they are only hyphenated at the specified hyphenation points. Each word should be on a separate line.