The Board will meet only on the afternoons of those two days and will not meet on Thursday or Friday 26 or 27 January.

24 and 25 January 2006, London Tuesday 24 January 2006 (afternoon only) Business Combinations II – analysis of comment letters on ED Update from the Recent Financial Instruments and Insurance Working Group Meetings Wednesday 25 January 2006 (afternoon only) Short-term Convergence: Borrowing Costs – transition Performance Reporting – segment A 'sweep issues' Accounting standards for Small and Medium-sized Entities – staff will present to the Board a preliminary draft of major sections of an exposure draft Earnings per Share – treasury stock method IFRIC Update

All are eligible for reappointment, but Professor Whittington is not seeking reappointment. Board member qualifications are listed in the Annex of the IASC Foundation's Constitution. Successful new applicants will be asked to serve a five-year term and will be expected to reside in London, where the IASB is located. Interested candidates should send a cover letter and curriculum vitae by 28 February 2006 to Philip Laskawy, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, IASC Foundation, 30 Cannon Street, London EC4M 6XH or by email to Tom Seidenstein, Director of Operations, at tseidenstein@iasb.org. Click for IASCF Announcement (PDF 92k).

Deloitte & Touche (Singapore) has published model financial statements and a presentation and disclosure checklist under Singapore Financial Reporting Standards for 2005:

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• (PDF 867k, 207 pages)

This wording differs slightly from the one published by the APB in Bulletin 2005/04 Auditor's Reports on Financial Statements in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Both wordings are acceptable and the electronic versions of the two Bulletins will be amended to include the EC wording as an alternative by way of a footnote.

IFRIC 8 clarifies that IFRS 2 Share-based Payment applies to arrangements where an entity makes share-based payments for apparently nil or inadequate consideration.

IFRIC 8 explains that, if the identifiable consideration given appears to be less than the fair value of the equity instruments granted or liability incurred, this situation typically indicates that other consideration has been or will be received. IFRS 2 therefore applies.

IFRIC 8 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 May 2006. Earlier application is encouraged. Click for Press Release (PDF 59k).

 

The proposed Interpretation would clarify the interaction between IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting and two other standards, IAS 36 Impairment of Assets and IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, and the effect of that interaction on subsequent interim and annual financial statements.

The proposed Interpretation clarifies that an entity cannot reverse an impairment loss recognised in a previous interim period in respect of goodwill, an investment in an equity instrument or a financial asset carried at cost.

Click for Press Release (PDF 53k).

 

FINREP is designed for credit institutions that use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) for their published financial statements, and that have to provide similar information in the periodic 'prudential reports' they are required to submit to their supervisory authorities. "The introduction of international accounting and reporting standards provides an opportunity to converge and ultimately harmonise prudential reporting in Europe." The framework is not intended to cover all aspects of IFRSs; rather it focuses on information that is important or relevant for prudential purposes. FINREP is intended to enable credit institutions to use the same standardised data formats and data definitions for prudential reporting in all countries where the framework will be applied. CEBS advises the European Commission on banking policy issues, promotes convergence of supervisory practise across European Union, and fosters consistent application of EC banking legislation. Click to download:

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While audit reports will refer to Australian or New Zealand Equivalents of IFRSs, those standards are intended to result in financial statements that are fully IFRS compliant. Both countries have adopted paragraph 14 of IAS 1, which requires that:

An entity whose financial statements comply with IFRSs shall make an explicit and unreserved statement of such compliance in the notes. Financial statements shall not be described as complying with IFRSs unless they comply with all the requirements of IFRSs.

The consolidated accounts of Australian and New Zealand entities that use their IFRS equivalents will include such an explicit and unreserved statement of IFRS compliance in the notes. Therefore, in our Table Summarising Global Use of IFRSs Australia and New Zealand are identified as 'IFRSs Required for All Domestic Listed Companies'.

Since then, each year Deloitte & Touche (Singapore) has published a booklet about the recent Changes to The Financial Reporting Framework in Singapore. We have just posted the 2005 edition:

• The (PDF 267k) covered a series of improved and new Financial Reporting Standards (FRSs) introduced in 2004, majority of which are effective in 2005. For most entities in Singapore, 2005 will be the first accounting period from which they need to address the requirements of those revised and new standards, and they should have by now implemented, or are in the process of implementing those changes.
• The (PDF 207k) reflects a less hectic pace of change with respect to FRSs. However, some significant changes in regulatory reporting have arisen from the Companies (Amendment) Act 2005 that will affect all Singapore companies. The auditing and corporate governance regimes are also undergoing a wave of changes. Therefore the 2005 Edition highlights some significant changes in Singapore Standards on Auditing (SSA) and their implications on Singapore companies. It also covers changes in Code of Corporate Governance applicable for Singapore listed companies, and some important proposed changes to the listing rules. As in the past editions, a list of FRS and INT FRS is included, as is a list of the new/revised auditing pronouncements.

CCDG has now issued a set of accounting standards and interpretations that are almost identical to the current set of IFRSs, though some differences remain. You will find a list of those differences on our Singapore Page.

The AcSB will pursue separate strategies for three major categories of reporting entities: public companies, private businesses and not-for-profit organisations.

For public companies, the AcSB's objective is to move to a single set of globally accepted high-quality standards. The AcSB has concluded that this objective is best accomplished by converging Canadian GAAP with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) over a transitional period. Australia and the European Union have already adopted IFRS and other countries have convergence programs underway. The AcSB will develop and publish a detailed implementation plan for achieving convergence later this year. The AcSB expects that the transition period will take approximately five years, but the precise timing will depend on many factors, and will be continuously monitored throughout the process. At the end of that period, Canadian GAAP will cease to exist as a separate, distinct basis of financial reporting for public companies. For private businesses, the AcSB has begun, as a matter of urgency, a comprehensive examination of their financial reporting needs and will determine the most appropriate model for meeting those needs. For not-for-profit organisations, the AcSB will continue to apply those elements of GAAP for profit-oriented enterprises that are applicable to their circumstances, and develop other standards dealing with the special circumstances of the not-for-profit sector. The AcSB recognizes that some Canadian public companies that have significant market followings in the United States might prefer to use US GAAP. The Canadian Securities Administrators already permit those Canadian public companies that are SEC registrants to use US GAAP instead of Canadian GAAP.

The AcSB expects to publish a final version of its strategic plan by 31 March 2006.

Click to view the Strategic Plan for the Direction of Accounting Standards (PDF 139k).