July

Deloitte Practice Fellows at the IASB

26 Jul 2007

Michelle Fisher, a Manager in the Hong Kong Technical Department, has joined the staff of the IASB as a Practice Fellow for an 18-month term starting 1 July 2007. In this role, she will be assisting Paul Pacter with the Small and Medium-sized Entities Project.

She will be involved in organising and monitoring the field testing of the exposure draft, dealing with comment letters, and ultimately the drafting of the final standard. Another Manager from the Hong Kong Technical Department, Candy Fong, is in her second year as a Practice Fellow at the IASB. Candy has been working on IFRIC agenda projects and also on the Board's financial instruments project. Her term at the IASB ends later this year.

SEC will consider IFRS proposal for US domestic companies

25 Jul 2007

At its meeting today (25 July 2007) the US Securities and Exchange Commission will consider whether to publish a proposed Concept Release on Allowing US Issuers to Prepare Financial Statements in Accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as published in English by the International Accounting Standards Board for purposes of complying with the Commission's rules and regulations.

 

New CEBS guidelines on financial reporting

25 Jul 2007

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) has published final amendments to its Guidelines for the Implementation of the Framework for Consolidated Financial Reporting (FINREP).

The guidelines had been released for public consultation on 20 April 2007 (see our News Story of 22 April 2007). The Guidelines are intended to be used by banking groups when preparing their financial reports based on IASs/IFRSs as required by the Supervisory Authorities within the European Union. The Guidelines were originally approved in December 2005 and revised in December 2006. In announcing the revised Guidelines, CEBS noted:

CEBS would like to reaffirm again the linkages between the Guidelines and the disclosure requirements established in the International Financial Reporting Standards. This principle is a basic underpinning for CEBS to set up a framework that reduces the reporting burden on supervised institutions but nevertheless allows supervisors to fulfill their prudential responsibilities. In this context, CEBS will monitor future developments in the standards to check whether they have an impact on the current version of the Guidelines.

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Four IASCF Trustees reappointed

25 Jul 2007

The Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation, under which the IASB operates, have reappointed four Trustees for a second three-year term ending 31 December 2010. The Trustees are:

  • Oscar Fanjul, Vice Chairman, Omega Capital, and former Chairman Founder and CEO, Repsol, SA, Spain
  • Tsuguoki (Aki) Fujinuma, Former Chairman and President, Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (JICPA), Japan
  • Alicja Kornasiewicz, Member of the Board of CA IB Corporate Finance Gmbh, Vienna, and CEO and Chairman of CA IB Group in Poland, Poland
  • Antonio Vegezzi, Retired Vice-Chairman, Capital International, Switzerland
The Trustees also announced an international public search to replace four Trustees who are not eligible for reappointment or are retiring as Trustees. Malcolm Knight of the Bank for International Settlements and Roberto Teixeira da Costa of Brazil have served the maximum of two terms. Richard Humphry of Australia is not seeking a second term, and William McDonough of the United States will be stepping down as a Trustee because of other commitments. Additionally, the Trustees are in the process of completing their search for a new Chairman of the Trustees. The IASC Foundation Trustees will advertise for candidates to fill the vacancies and are inviting individuals and organisations to submit applications to the Trustees' Nominating Committee by mid-September. Click for:

 

Update on financial reporting in Paraguay

25 Jul 2007

We have added a Country Page for Paraguay describing the statutory framework for accounting and auditing in Paraguay and the current status of accounting and auditing standards and their implementation.

Our summary is based on information contained in the World Bank's Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) – Accounting and Auditing for Paraguay as of 1 June 2006.
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India plans to converge its GAAP with IFRSs

25 Jul 2007

The Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has announced a plan to converge Indian Accounting Standards with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

However, the ICAI noted that it may make modifications to IFRSs to reflect "the Indian conditions". The new standards will be effective for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2011. They would be required for all listed companies as well as banks, insurance companies, and large-sized entities. Government approval of the plan is required.

Click for IASB Press Release (PDF 268k).

 

PCAOB proposes ethics and independence rule

25 Jul 2007

The United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has proposed for comment a new ethics and independence rule titled Communication with Audit Committees Concerning Independence.

The proposed rule would require a registered public accounting firm to communicate to an issuer's audit committee about any relationships between the firm and the issuer that may reasonably be thought to bear on the firm's independence. The communications would be required both before the firm accepts a new engagement pursuant to the standards of the PCAOB and annually for continuing engagements. In addition, the PCAOB proposed to amend its rule on Tax Services for Persons in Financial Reporting Oversight Roles that would exclude from the scope of the rule the portion of the audit period that precedes the beginning of the professional engagement period. Click for (PDF 308k).

Board agenda project pages updated

24 Jul 2007

We have updated the following agenda project pages to reflect the discussions and decisions at the International Accounting Standards Board's July 2007 meeting: Annual Improvements 2006-2007 Conceptual Framework Earnings per Share – Amendments to IAS 33 Financial Instruments Puttable at Fair Value and Obligations Arising on Liquidation IAS 27 – Formation of a New Parent Entity (new project page) Income Taxes – Amendments to IAS 12 Joint Ventures – Replacement of IAS 31 Liabilities – Amendments to IAS 37 Post-employment Benefits Share-based payment – Vesting Conditions and Cancellations .

EFRAG will form a working group on joint ventures

24 Jul 2007

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is forming a working group to explore the impacts of the possible elimination of proportionate consolidation on financial reporting.

The working group will assist EFRAG in developing a response to the expected IASB exposure draft on accounting for investments in joint ventures. Click for Terms of Reference (PDF 20k).

Reminder about upcoming comment deadline

24 Jul 2007

We remind you that the deadline is Tuesday, 31 July 2007, for responding to the proposal of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) to increase the size of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) from 12 to 14 voting members.

The proposal reflects the IASCF Trustees' view that the IFRIC would benefit from a greater diversity of members with practical experience in the application of IFRSs and analysis of financial statements using IFRSs. In April 2007, the IASCF issued a consultative document Proposal for Enlarging the IFRIC (PDF 238k). Written comments are due by 31 July 2007. Click for Press Release (PDF 297k).

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