May

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Deloitte partners co-author 2nd edition of Wiley IFRS guide

07 May 2008

Deloitte partners Abbas Ali Mirza and Magnus Orrell are co-authors, along with Prof Graham Holt, of the newly published second edition of Wiley IFRS: Practical Implementation Guide and Workbook.

The 474-page book includes outlines of all IASs/IFRSs, practical insights, cases studies with solutions, illustrations, and multiple-choice questions with solutions. For more information, go to The Book's Web Page.

 

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Accounting Roundup – April 2008

06 May 2008

We have posted the April 2008 Edition of Accounting Roundup published by Deloitte & Touche LLP (USA).

Topics covered in this issue include:

FASB Developments

  • FASB Issues FSP Affecting Companies Emerging From Bankruptcy
  • FASB Issues Guidance on Intangible Assets Subject to Renewal or Extension
  • FASB Codification Updated for SEC Content
  • FASB Updates Statement 133 Implementation Guidance
  • FAF and FASB to Host Global Accounting Standards Forum
  • FASB and China Accounting Standards Committee Sign Memorandum of Understanding
  • Considerations of Credit Risk in Fair Value Hedge Effectiveness Assessments
SEC Developments
  • SEC Adopts Amendments to Form S-11
  • SEC Launches Web Page to Facilitate Mutual Fund Comparisons
  • Why You Need to Know About XBRL
PCAOB Developments
  • PCAOB Adopts New Independence and Ethics Rules
  • PCAOB Announces 2008 Forums on Auditing in the Small Business Environment
GASB Developments
  • GASB Proposes Changes to Concepts Statement 2
  • GASB Adds Three New Projects to Agenda
International Development
  • IASC Foundation Constitution Review
Click to view April 2008 Edition of Accounting Roundup (PDF 299k). You will find past issues of Accounting Roundup Here.

 

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Joint Forum paper on customer suitability in sale of financial products

06 May 2008

The Joint Forum – a consortium of the Basel Committee, IOSCO, and IAIS – has released a paper entitled Customer Suitability in the Retail Sale of Financial Products and Services.

Click to download:

The customer suitability report considers how supervisors and regulated firms across the banking, securities, and insurance sectors deal with risks posed by the sale of unsuitable retail financial products. The Joint Forum reviewed both the disclosure of information to retail investors and requirements on firms to determine whether recommended investment products are suitable for such investors. The report focuses exclusively on requirements related to retail customers and products with a significant investment component. The Joint Forum evaluated investment-based or investment-linked insurance products, but not those insurance contracts that insure only against risk.
Click here to go to our permanent page for resources relating to the Credit Crunch. By 'credit crunch' we mean the recent turmoil in the world's financial markets and responses to it from various international, regional, and national agencies.

 

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IFRSs are 'a highly positive achievement'

05 May 2008

In his Remarks at a Conference on US– EU Regulatory Cooperation sponsored by the US Chamber of Commerce on 30 April 2008, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Mark Sobel spoke of IFRSs as 'a highly positive achievement' for globalised financial markets.

An excerpt:

Accounting Convergence: Following up on the accounting 'roadmap' work, in late 2007, the SEC decided to abolish the requirement for reconciliation to US GAAP for foreign companies using IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and solicited comment on the possibility of allowing domestic companies to file using IFRS. Noting the report published by the EC Services earlier this month that US GAAP meets the criteria established for recognition as 'equivalent' to IFRS, we look forward to a formal decision confirming this finding. We fully expect this to happen this year. It bears underscoring that this work, along with efforts to converge global accounting standards and strengthen international accounting governance, offers the prospect for firms to use one set of financial statements for their global activities, with all of the attendant benefits in terms of reduced costs and greater efficiencies. This is a hugely positive achievement, and the SEC and EU deserve tremendous praise for their hard work in past in bringing these efforts toward fruition.

Click to view Remarks at a Conference on US– EU Regulatory Cooperation (PDF 42k).

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Canadian financial institutions may not early-adopt IFRSs

03 May 2008

Although the Canadian Securities Administrators have invited comment on whether to permit publicly accountable Canadian entities to adopt IFRSs starting in 2009 – two years earlier than would be required by the Canadian Accounting Standards Board – the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has issued a Notice to All Federally Regulated Financial Institutions (FRFIs) instructing them not to adopt IFRSs early, mainly for regulatory comparability reasons.

There are nearly 500 FRFI's in Canada. The OSFI notice states:
  1. All FRFIs are considered publicly accountable enterprises and must adopt IFRSs as required in AcSB's plan for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2011.
  2. No early adoption will be allowed for FRFIs.
  3. All FRFIs must submit a semi-annual progress review on their plan to adopt IFRSs to OSFI within 30 days of the end of the period.

Click to view Notice to All Federally Regulated Financial Institutions (FRFIs) (PDF 33k).

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Heads Up on 'The Latest From the PCAOB'

01 May 2008

Deloitte & Touche LLP (United States) has published the 30 April 2008 Edition of the Heads Up Newsletter summarising some of the more significant recent activities of the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), including:

  • the proposal of a new auditing standard on engagement quality review; amendment of the existing tax services rule for auditing firms (PCAOB Rule No. 3523, Tax Services for Persons in Financial Reporting Oversight Roles); and
  • adoption of a new ethics and independence rule (PCAOB Rule No. 3526, Communication With Audit Committees Concerning Independence)

Click to view 30 April 2008 Edition of the Heads Up Newsletter (PDF 119k).

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Near-final draft of 'annual improvements to IFRSs'

01 May 2008

The IASB has made available to its subscribers the near-final draft of this year's Annual Improvements to International Financial Reporting Standards.

Annual improvements are relatively minor amendments to IFRSs. We have Project Information on IAS Plus.

 

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