April

FASB (old) Image

FASB adds SEC content into its standards codification

07 Apr 2008

In January, the US Financial Accounting Standards Board began a one-year verification phase of its codification of US GAAP.

During the verification period, constituents are encouraged to use the online Codification Research System free of charge to research accounting issues. The FASB has now added portions of Securities and Exchange Commission and SEC staff content into the Codification. The Codification does not change the SEC content; instead it reorganises the content into roughly 90 accounting topics to more closely align with the non-SEC content. The SEC sections relate only to matters within the basic financial statements; they do not contain the entire population of SEC rules, regulations, interpretive releases, and staff guidance. Click for:

 

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Agenda for April 2008 IASB meeting

04 Apr 2008

The International Accounting Standards Board will hold its April 2008 meeting at the IASB's offices, 30 Cannon Street, London on Tuesday to Friday 15-18 April 2008. The meeting is open to public observation and will be webcast.

The full agenda for the meeting can be found here. We will post any updates to the agenda, and our Deloitte observer notes from the meeting, on this page as they are available.
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34 IFRS e-Learning modules are updated

04 Apr 2008

We are pleased to announce that 34 of our 35 IFRS e-Learning modules have just been updated to reflect recent changes in IFRSs.

The modules that changed most significantly are those for IASs 16, 17, 23, 28, 36, and 37 and IFRSs 1 and 2. The one remaining module, IAS 32/39 (Part 1), is under final review, and we expect to release it by the end of April 2008. The updates make the modules technically accurate for the IFRSs in force at 31 December 2007. Development of new modules for IFRS 8 and IFRIC 12 has been completed. We expect to release them in the next week or two.

 

PCAOB (US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) (dark gray) Image

US PCAOB strategic plan 2008-2013

03 Apr 2008

The United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has published a Strategic Plan to guide the Board's programs and operations during the period 2008-2013. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 created the PCAOB as the independent nonprofit overseer of the auditors of public companies.

PCAOB has four primary responsibilities:
  • registration of accounting firms (including non-US firms) that audit public companies (including non-US issuers) trading in US securities markets;
  • inspections of registered public accounting firms;
  • establishment of auditing and related attestation, quality control, ethics, and independence standards for registered public accounting firms; and
  • investigation and discipline of registered public accounting firms and their associated persons for violations of specified laws or professional standards.

Click to view the Strategic Plan (PDF 112k).

 

IFRIC (International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee) (blue) Image

Two new IFRIC members are appointed

03 Apr 2008

The IASC Foundation has appointed two additional members of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC).

In November 2007 the IASCF Trustees increased the number of IFRIC members from 12 to 14 to broaden IFRS expertise on the committee. The new members are:
  • Margaret M. (Peggy) Smyth, Vice President, Controller, United Technologies Corp., United States
  • Scott Taub, Managing Director, Financial Reporting Advisors, LLC, United States, and former Acting Chief Accountant and Deputy Chief Accountant, US Securities and Exchange Commission
The appointments are for three-year terms ending 30 June 2011. The two members will be eligible for reappointment. Click for Press Release (55k). A complete list of IFRIC members is Here.

 

European Union (old) Image

CESR report on GAAP equivalence to IFRSs

02 Apr 2008

The Committee of European Securities Regulators has published its advice to the European Commission on the equivalence of Chinese, Japanese, and US GAAPs to International Financial Reporting Standards.

CESR's recommendations are:
  • CESR recommends the Commission find US GAAP equivalent to IFRS for use on EU markets.
  • CESR recommends the Commission consider Japanese GAAP equivalent, unless there is no adequate evidence of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) achieving to timetable the objectives set out in the Tokyo Agreement.
  • CESR recommends the Commission postpone a final decision on Chinese GAAP until there is more information on the application of the New Chinese Accounting Standards by Chinese issuers. CESR points out that the first complete reporting period under the new Chinese standards will only be for 2007 accounting periods. Consequently there is as yet no evidence available concerning the concrete implementation of the standards by companies and auditors. CESR believes that evidence of adequate implementation is important in the context of an outcome-based definition of equivalence. However, if the Commission were minded to allow Chinese issuers to use Chinese GAAP when accessing EU markets, CESR would recommend the Commission consider accepting Chinese GAAP according to article 4 of the Commission Regulation on the mechanism, until such time as there is adequate evidence to enable a decision to be made under article 2 thereof.
Click for:

 

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Comparison of Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards and IFRSs

02 Apr 2008

We have posted a comparison of Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards and IFRS as of 1 January 2008, prepared by the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs.

European Union (old) Image

European responses to financial markets turmoil

02 Apr 2008

In his report yesterday to the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Charlie McCreevy, the European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, discussed the Latest Developments on Policy Response to Financial Turmoil.

He addressed a range of issues, including supervisory convergence across Europe, changes to the bank Capital Requirements Directive, and some accounting-related issues. Here are excerpts:

The issues [causing the turmoil] are known: weak internal valuation models, opaque securitization process, business models that were built upon disproportionate maturity mismatches between assets and liabilities, weak internal controls and poor disclosure standards, to name but a few.

Improving valuation standards, in particular for illiquid assets. This work is done at international level. It has recently intensified. We are happy to hear that the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) will present a discussion paper including considerations on fair value measurement this month. In May, a task force of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) will also present its findings. This is good news. We will continue to closely monitor progress. There is a growing debate on whether fair value and mark to market measurements may have aggravated the crisis by bringing pro-cyclicality in financial statements. I want to make it clear that I believe that there are some real accounting issues and anomalies to examine, including the interface with the Capital Requirements Directive, such as the consolidation of special purpose entities or the measurement and information disclosed on risk exposures. Clearly, these and other issues – such as the impact of mark to market valuation when markets generally become illiquid and irrational – must be thoroughly analysed.

Click to view Latest Developments on Policy Response to Financial Turmoil (PDF 82k).

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AAA study of accounting faculty trends in US universities

01 Apr 2008

The American Accounting Association has released a new report Accounting Faculty in US Colleges and Universities: Status and Trends, 1993-2004.

The study, co-sponsored by the American Institute of CPAs, provides data about the perceived shortage of doctoral candidates in accounting in the United States and the implications for accounting education. Among the findings:
  • The number of accounting faculty declined 13.3 percent over the period 1988-2004.
  • However, undergraduate student enrollment in accounting increased 12.3 percent over the same period.
  • Most of the faculty decline occurred at four-year, non-doctoral-granting institutions (decline of 31 percent since 1993). The number of full-time accounting faculty at research/doctoral universities and at community colleges changed little between 1993 and 2004. No change, also, in the total number of accounting faculty holding PhDs.
  • The number of accounting faculty over the age of 55 increased while the number of accounting faculty under the age of 40 declined by half during the 1993-2004 period. The study estimates that the number of retirements is likely to exceed the number of qualified replacements in the immediate future.
  • One result has been a salary inversion observed in the 2004 data: faculty under age 41 averaged higher pay than faculty over age 41.
  • Workload for accounting faculty has increased markedly, especially at research and doctoral universities, where the bulk of enrollment increases has also occurred.

Click to view Accounting Faculty in US Colleges and Universities: Status and Trends, 1993-2004 (PDF 198k).

FASB (old) Image

FASB invites comments on IASB's financial instruments paper

01 Apr 2008

The US Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued an Invitation to Comment (ITC) on Reducing Complexity in Reporting Financial Instruments.

The ITC incorproates the IASB's Discussion Paper on Reducing Complexity in Reporting Financial Instruments, which the IASB issued for comment on 20 March 2008. FASB's ITC asks whether there is a need for the FASB to add a project aimed at simplifying and improving standards for measurement of financial instruments and, if so, what kind of projects or approaches should be considered. It also requests feedback on the issues in the IASB's Discussion Paper. FASB requests comments by 19 September 2008 (same comment deadline as the IASB). Click for:

 

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