July

Deloitte Country Guides and Country Snapshots

06 Jul 2006

Deloitte publishes two series of booklets with extensive information on investment conditions, tax regimes, and regulatory requirements in over 75 countries around the world.

They also include information for executives working abroad:
  • Country Guides. Detailing extensive regulatory, tax and human resources information for more than 50 countries worldwide
  • Snapshots. Providing concise facts, figures, economic indicators and country tax rates for more than 75 countries. Newly available Snapshots cover Canada, Finland, Guam, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands Antilles, Papua New Guinea, and Uzbekistan.
You can access these publications at www.deloittecountryguides.com. We also have a permanent link on our Countries page.

Three IFRIC members appointed

06 Jul 2006

The Trustees of the IASC Foundation have appointed three new members of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC).

The new members are:
  • Sara York Kenny, Principal Accounting Advisor to the International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group
  • Takatsugu Ochi, General Manager of Planning and Administration Department, Financial Resources Management Group, Sumitomo Corporation, Japan
  • Ruth Picker, Partner, Technical Consulting Group, Ernst & Young, Australia
The appointments are for three-year terms ending on 30 June 2009. Each of these members is eligible for reappointment to one further three-year term. Click for:

Statistics database updated

06 Jul 2006

We have updated our Database of Statistics that, we believe, provide clear evidence of the globalisation of the world's capital markets and of the need for global financial reporting standards.

Updates include latest data about cross-border listings on the World Federation of Exchange member exchanges, London, NYSE, and NASDAQ.

Agenda for July 2006 IASB meeting

06 Jul 2006

The International Accounting Standards Board will hold its July 2006 Board meeting at its offices, 30 Cannon Street, London, on Tuesday through Friday 18-21 July 2006. Presented below is the preliminary agenda for the meeting.

Please note that the Board will not meet in August.

agenda.gif

18-21 July 2006, London

Tuesday 18 July 2006

Wednesday 19 July 2006 (afternoon only) Thursday 20 July 2006 Friday 21 July May 2006 (morning only)

Public sector audit guidelines to be based on ISAs

05 Jul 2006

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the Professional Standards Committee (PSC) of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding that allows the PSC to use the IAASB's International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) as the basis for guidelines on public sector financial audits. .

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the Professional Standards Committee (PSC) of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding that allows the PSC to use the IAASB's International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) as the basis for guidelines on public sector financial audits.

Model annual report for 2005 using 'New Zealand IFRSs'

05 Jul 2006

Deloitte (New Zealand) has published (PDF 1,623k) – a guide to producing an annual report and consolidated financial statements on first-time adoption of New Zealand Equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards Financial (NZ-IFRSs) for years ending on or after 31 December 2005. The publication includes: an illustrative example of annual financial statements prepared by consolidated entities on first-time adoption of NZ-IFRSs discussion and examples of other matters that would typically be included in an entity's annual report to meet the requirements of section 211 of the Companies Act 1993, New Zealand Stock Exchange Listing Rules, and New Zealand Securities Legislation. You will find a permanent link to this publication, a comparison of NZ-IFRSs and IFRSs, and other information about financial reporting in New Zealand on our New Zealand Page. .

John Kellas is reappointed IAASB chair

04 Jul 2006

The Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has reappointed John Kellas as Chair of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), the body that sets International Standards on Auditing.

Mr. Kellas has served on the IAASB since October 2000 and as Chair since January 2004, a position that became full-time on 1 October 2004 of that year. His appointment to a second term, beginning 1 January 2007 and ending 31 December 2008, was endorsed by the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB), which oversees the IAASB's activities to ensure that they are properly responsive to the public interest. Click for Press Release (PDF 83k).

Use of IFRSs in Yemen

04 Jul 2006

We have created a Yemen Page.

Yemen does not have a stock exchange, and there are no domestic accounting standards or accounting regulation. Audit reports in Yemen generally refer to conformity with generally accepted accounting principles without indicating whether that is IFRS or US GAAP or some other framework. Sometimes, IFRSs are used.

'Convergent enforcement' of IFRSs in Europe

04 Jul 2006

The Committee of European Securities Regulators has published its (PDF 2,181k).

The report notes that one of CESR's key objectives for 2006 is "facilitating convergent enforcement of IFRSs for all listed companies in Europe". CESR's work in the area of financial reporting in Europe is coordinated by CESR-Fin, a permanent operational group within CESR chaired by John Tiner, Chief Executive of the UK Financial Services Authority. Writing in CESR's 2005 report, Mr. Tiner states:

Since January 2005 we have seen International Accounting Standards (IAS/IFRS) adopted for all EU listed groups – the most radical and important change in financial accounting since the introduction of the 4th and 7th Company Law Directives. With the introduction of IFRS in Europe, the vision under the Financial Services Action Plan of a single set of financial statements for listed companies is now becoming a reality, the primary objective being to allow community companies to compete on an equal footing for financial resources available in the capital markets. In this context, the next two years will be crucial as IAS/IFRS are applicable to nearly 8,000 listed group companies across the EU.

CESR was closely associated to the process that led to the introduction of the standards in the EU, notably through its monitoring work on the development and adoption of the EU standards, or with the publication of additional recommendations accompanying the transition to IFRS, but also with the advice given in June 2005 to the European Commission on the equivalence between certain third country GAAP and IFRS. Now that we are starting to see IFRS information and the process becomes more real, we must move on to think about consistency of application and interpretation.

CESR-Fin has already taken the initiative to help with the development of robust and coordinated enforcement across the EU by establishing a framework for discussion and information sharing among European enforcement agencies. It is in everyone's interests for the standards to be applied, interpreted and enforced consistently in all major capital markets, and for investors to have confidence in financial information from listed companies. In this context, the coordination of enforcement activities and consolidation of our relationship with third-countries' enforcement agencies will be high on the agenda of CESR-Fin for the near future.

EU Council amends 4th and 7th directives

04 Jul 2006

The Council of the European Union has adopted revisions to the EU's existing directives on the annual and consolidated accounts of European companies.

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 must be signed by the Presidents of the Council and the European Parliament, and then will take effect 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the EU. EU member states will then have two years to enact the provisions of the new directive into their national legislation. Click for (PDF 117k).

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