July

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Deloitte letter on proposed amendments to IAS 1

17 Jul 2006

We have posted the Deloitte letter of comments to the IASB on (PDF 90k).

Our overall view:

We do not think the proposals in the ED are desirable at this time, given that the more fundamental issues related to financial statement presentation are under consideration by the IASB and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board within Segment B of the Financial Statement Presentation Project.

We are particularly concerned that, notwithstanding the IASB's statements to the contrary, the proposals in the ED, if issued as amendments to IAS 1. will inevitably have an impact on the boards' deliberations on financial statement presentation generally. In addition, we are concerned that, although many IFRS users made the transition to IFRSs in 2005, there are significant jurisdictions preparing for transition in the period 2007-2009. In our view, both existing and prospective users and preparers of IFRS financial statements would be better served by changing their financial statement presentation once: to the accounting standard that is the result of the IASB-FASB joint project.

All of Deloitte's past comment letters to the IASC and the IASB may be Found Here.
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Accounting Roundup – second quarter 2006 review

17 Jul 2006

We have posted the (PDF 397k), prepared by the National Office Accounting Standards and Communications Group of Deloitte & Touche LLP (USA).

During the second quarter of 2006, accounting standard-setters and accounting regulators issued a number of final and proposed FASB Interpretations, FSPs, EITF consensuses, SEC rules, PCAOB rules, IFRSs, etc. affecting accounting, financial reporting, and corporate governance. Accounting Roundup: 2nd Quarter in Review–2006, presents brief descriptions of those pronouncements, as well as certain other regulatory and professional developments in accounting and financial reporting. The articles included derive from issues of the Accounting Roundup newsletters published in the second quarter of 2006, with updates added where appropriate. You will find past issues Here.
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Heads Up newsletter on FASB income tax interpretation

17 Jul 2006

Deloitte & Touche LLP (United States) has published a special issue of the (PDF 143k) summarising FASB Interpretation No 48 Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes - an interpretation of FASB Statement No.

109. This interpretation is effective for financial years beginning after 15 December 2006, with early adoption encouraged. The interpretation takes a two-step approach for recognising and measuring tax benefits:
  • 1. Recognition: For each tax deduction or other tax position, an entity must make a hypothetical assessment: if a dispute with the taxing authority were taken to the court of last resort, is it more likely than not that the tax position would be sustained as filed? If it is, the recognition threshold is met.
  • 2. Measurement: An entity should recognise the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realised upon ultimate settlement with the taxing authority. In this step, the enterprise should also presume that the taxing authority has full knowledge of all relevant information.
This matter is within the scope of the Joint IASB-FASB Convergence Project on Income Taxes. Since the policy of the two Boards is generally to look to the most recently issued pronouncement of the two Boards in reaching convergence decisions, the conclusions in FASB Interpretation 48 could well become the proposed answer in the joint project. You can download the full FASB Interpretation from the FASB Website without charge.
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Newsletter explaining ED on puttable shares

16 Jul 2006

In June 2006, the IASB published an exposure draft on Financial Instruments Puttable at Fair Value and Obligations Arising on Liquidation.

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IFRIC meeting dates for 2007

15 Jul 2006

Meeting dates of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) in 2007 have been announced.

All are in London at the IASB's offices, 30 Cannon Street:

IFRIC MEETINGS 2007

  • Thursday and Friday 11-12 January 2007
  • Thursday and Friday 8-9 March 2007
  • Thursday and Friday 3-4 May 2007
  • Thursday and Friday 12-13 July 2007
  • Thursday and Friday 6-7 September 2007
  • Thursday and Friday 1-2 November 2007
You can always find the dates on our Future IASB Meetings Page.
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IASCF begins search to fill 2007 Board vacancies

14 Jul 2006

Mr Cope .

Mr Cope

Ms O'Malley

Mr Smith

The IASC Foundation (IASCF), under which the IASB operates, has begun its search to fill three Board Member positions effective 1 July 2007. The appointments of two full-time IASB members (Anthony T Cope and Patricia O'Malley) and one part-time IASB member (John T Smith) will end on 30 June 2007. Mr Cope and Ms O'Malley are not eligible for reappointment. Mr Smith is eligible for reappointment and will receive particular consideration from the IASCF Trustees. The Trustees invite applications for both the full-time and part-time positions. Part-time membership means that the member concerned commits most of his or her time in paid employment to the IASCF. The qualifications of candidates will be considered on the basis of the criteria listed in the Annex of the IASC Foundation's Constitution (Excerpted Here). Interested persons are invited to apply by 15 September 2006. Click for Search Announcement (PDF 23k).

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ECOFIN's conclusions on IASB funding

13 Jul 2006

At its meeting on 11 July 2006, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) of the European Union discussed the funding of the International Accounting Standards Board and adopted the following conclusions.

Click for (PDF 240k):

The Council emphasises the importance of high quality financial statements for the development of the EU financial markets; and acknowledges the role of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in producing International Financial Re porting Standards (IFRS), as well as interpretations of these standards. The Council notes that the current funding scheme of the IASB expires at the end of 2007, and considers that stable and secure financing must be ensured in order for the IASB to fulfil its function.

The Council welcomes the current private sector efforts to create a broad-based voluntary financing system for the IASB and recognises the need to finalise the financing system in order to prevent any disruption of the operations of the IASB. The Council stresses the importance of the following factors, which must be taken into account in structuring a future financing system of the IASB:

  • the financing system would benefit from a very broad base of contributors and the involvement of stakeholders from all parts of the world so as to avoid possible conflicts of interest;
  • financing allocations should be clearly determined for all categories of contributors taking into account the precise financing need; and they should be based on objective criteria for contributors from different geographical regions or jurisdictions;
  • stakeholders benefiting from the use of IFRS financial statements should be the primary contributors to the financing of the IASB;
  • the relevant parties are urged to co-operate in their jurisdictions in relation to the practical modalities relating to the funding of the IASB. The Commission is invited to monitor this process inside the EU and provide its assistance, if needed;
  • a financing system based on voluntary contributions should be reviewed after three years of operation in order to see if the system has fulfilled its objectives. The possibility of funding the IASB partly through public means remains to be examined;
  • in more general terms, the IASB should continue to:
    • 1. strengthen its governance structure...;
    • 2. strengthen its due process with stakeholders...; as well as
    • 3. ensure that stakeholders are adequately represented in the IASC Foundation, IASB and International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) governing bodies, bringing additional technical expertise.
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SEC concept release on internal control reporting

12 Jul 2006

The Securities and Exchange Commission, in another step toward improving the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley investor protection law, today published a Concept Release as a prelude to its forthcoming guidance for management in assessing a company's internal controls for financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Commission anticipates that the forthcoming guidance for management will cover at least these areas: Identifying risks to financial statement account and disclosure accuracy and the related internal controls that address the risks, including how management might use company-level controls to address the risks Objectives of the evaluation procedures and methods or approaches available to management to gather evidence to support its assessment Factors management should consider to determine the nature, timing, and extent of its evaluation procedures Documentation requirements, including overall objectives of the documentation and factors that might influence documentation requirements The Concept Release seeks feedback on each of these topics and on whether guidance should be provided in other areas as well.

One of the questions the Release asks is whether there are special issues applicable to foreign private issuers that the Commission should consider in developing guidance to management on how to evaluate the effectiveness of a company's internal control over financial reporting. Responses due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Click for:

Effective dates of Section 404 for:

Fiscal years ending on or after:

US domestic reporting companies that are accelerated filers

15 November 2004

Foreign private issuers that are accelerated filers

15 July 2006

Domestic and foreign non-accelerated filers

15 July 2007

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IASB meeting dates for 2007

12 Jul 2006

Dates of the IASB's meetings in 2007, including meetings with the Standards Advisory Council and with World Standard Setters, are as follows.

All are in London except the October 2007 Joint Meeting with the FASB, which is at the FASB's offices in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA:

IASB MEETINGS 2007

  • Monday 22 January - Friday 26 January 2007
  • Monday 19 February - Friday 23 February 2007, and 26-27 February 2007 Standards Advisory Council
  • Monday 19 March - Friday 23 March 2007
  • Monday 16 April - Friday 20 April 2007
  • Monday 23 April - Tuesday 24 April 2007 – Joint IASB/FASB Meeting
  • Monday 14 May - Friday 18 May 2007
  • Monday 18 June - Friday 22 June 2007, and 25-26 June 2007 Standards Advisory Council
  • Monday 16 July - Friday 20 July 2007
  • Monday 17 September - Friday 21 September 2007
  • Monday 24 September - Tuesday 25 September 2007 – World Standard Setters Meeting
  • Monday 15 October - Friday 19 October 2007
  • Monday 22 October - Tuesday 23 October 2007 – Joint IASB/FASB Meeting
  • Monday 12 November - Friday 16 November 2007, and 8-9 November 2007 Standards Advisory Council
  • Monday 10 December - Friday 14 December 2007
You can always find the dates on our Future IASB Meetings Page.
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Canada's plan to move toward IFRSs for public companies

12 Jul 2006

An article titled Going Global in the June 2006 issue of CA Magazine (published by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants) explains Canada's new plan to converge Canadian GAAP with IFRSs over a transitional period of five years.

During that time, the Accounting Standards Board of Canada will focus its efforts on removing the differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRSs by replacing individual Canadian standards with IFRSs. The article presents views on the Canadian convergence plan from the perspectives of financial executives, auditors, regulators, and standard setters. Click here for a Link to the Article on the CICA Website.

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