June

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Making financial reports less complex and more relevant

04 Jun 2009

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the United Kingdom's independent financial reporting regulator, has published a discussion paper arising from its project on reducing complexity in corporate reporting.

The paper – titled Louder than Words: Principles and Actions for Making Corporate Reports Less Complex and More Relevantseeks to address growing concerns about the complexity of corporate reporting. The paper recommends eight guiding principles for reducing complexity: four for better communication in reports and four for improving the quality and effectiveness of regulations. The paper also makes five calls for action where the FRC believes further investigation may lead to opportunities for reducing complexity. These are:
  1. Cash flow and net debt reporting: could this be better aligned with user needs such as by including a net debt reconciliation?
  2. Wholly owned subsidiaries reporting requirements: could we find ways to reduce the reporting burden such as by reducing the filing or disclosure requirements?
  3. Cut clutter: could preparers reduce immaterial information (with the support of regulators) that may be undermining the quality of reports?
  4. Disclosures: could we overhaul the process for creating disclosures and provide guidance about when they can be deleted as not relevant?
  5. IFRSs: could we improve usability through logical organisation and clearer articulation of the desired outcomes for each standard?
The FRC is hoping that the discussion paper will lead to debate within the UK and global financial reporting communities. The FRC has invited comments on its paper from a wide range of constituents by 30 October 2009. Click to download (copyright FRC and posted on IAS Plus with their kind permission):

 

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Heads Up on 'subsequent events'

04 Jun 2009

Deloitte United States has published a Heads Up newsletter discussing the recently issued FASB Statement 165 Subsequent Events, which provides guidance on management's assessment of events occurring after the reporting date.

FAS 165 does not address all differences between US GAAP and IAS 10 Events after the Reporting Period. Differences remain, for instance, in the areas of refinancing short-term obligations and curing violations of borrowing covenants. Click to Download the Heads Up Newsletter (PDF 166k).
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FASB Codification will take effect 1 July

04 Jun 2009

The US Financial Accounting Standards Board has voted to approve the FASB Accounting Standards Codification as the single source of authoritative nongovernmental US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles as of 1 July 2009. The Codification will be effective for interim and annual periods ending after 15 September 2009, which means that preparers must begin to use the Codification for periods that begin on or about 1 July 2009. All existing accounting standard documents are superseded.

All other accounting literature not included in the Codification will be considered nonauthoritative. The Codification includes the following former literature:
  • Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
    • Statements (FAS)
    • Interpretations (FIN)
    • Technical Bulletins (FTB)
    • Staff Positions (FSP)
    • Staff Implementation Guides (Q&A)
  • Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF)
    • Abstracts
    • Appendix D Topics
  • Derivative Implementation Group (DIG) Issues
  • Accounting Principles Board (APB) Opinions
  • Accounting Research Bulletins (ARB)
  • Accounting Interpretations (AIN)
  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
    • Statements of Position (SOP)
    • Audit and Accounting Guides (AAG)-only incremental accounting guidance
    • Practice Bulletins (PB)
    • Technical Inquiry Service (TIS)-only for Software Revenue Recognition.
Click for FASB News Release (PDF 92k).

 

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Chinese translation of newsletter on income tax ED

04 Jun 2009

Deloitte China has published the Chinese translation of the IAS Plus Update newsletter Changes Proposed for Income Tax Accounting:

You will find links to these and many other IFRS materials in Chinese on our China Page.

 

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12 IFRSs await EU endorsement

03 Jun 2009

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has updated its report showing the status of endorsement, under the EU Accounting Regulation, of each IFRS, including standards, interpretations, and amendments.

Click to download the Endorsement Status Report as of 28 May 2009 (PDF 131k). There are currently 12 IASB pronouncements awaiting European Commission endorsement for use in Europe, as follows:

Standards

  • IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of IFRS – Restructured standard (2008)
  • IFRS 3 Business Combinations (2008)

Interpretations

  • IFRIC 15 Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate
  • IFRIC 16 Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Operation
  • IFRIC 17 Distributions of Non-cash Assets to Owners
  • IFRIC 18 Transfers of Assets from Customers

Amendments
EFRAG's prognosis is that only three of these will be endorsed before their effective dates.

 

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Accounting Roundup – May 2009

03 Jun 2009

We have posted the May 2009 Edition of Accounting Roundup published by Deloitte & Touche LLP (United States).

The newsletter is now organised by topic rather than by standard-setter. Topics covered in this issue include: Fair Value Measurements
  • FASB Proposes Guidance on Fair Value Measurement of Liabilities
  • IASB Issues Exposure Draft on Fair Value Measurement
Business Combinations
  • FASB Issues Statement on Not-for-Profit Mergers and Acquisitions
Income Taxes
  • FASB Proposes Guidance on Applying Interpretation 48 to Pass-Through and Tax-Exempt Not-for-Profit Entities
Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits
  • IASB Proposes Amendments to Clarify Accounting for Pension Plan Prepayments
Other Accounting
  • FASB Issues Statement on Subsequent Events
  • AICPA Issues Practice Aid on Fair Value Measurement Disclosures for Master Trusts
  • SEC Staff's Views on Filing Registration Statements After the Adoption of Statement 160, FSP APB 14-1, and FSP EITF 03-6-1
Other SEC Matters
  • SEC Proposes Rule Amendments to Increase Safeguards on Investor Funds
  • SEC Issues New Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations
Other Auditing
  • CAQ Releases Guide on Public-Company Auditing
You will find past issues of Accounting Roundup Here.

 

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Special IASB meeting on 5 June

03 Jun 2009

The IASB will hold a special Board meeting on Friday, 5 June 2009, 13:00 to 15:30 London time, in addition to its regular monthly 15-19 June meeting.

As with the special meeting earlier this week on 1 June, the sole agenda topic is the IASB's Comprehensive Financial Instruments Project to develop a replacement for IAS 39. The agenda papers for the 5 June meeting are now available on IASB Website.

 

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Four recent IFRS Insights newsletters

03 Jun 2009

We have posted four recent IFRS Insights newsletters from Deloitte & Touche LLP (United States). IFRS Insights provides news on the latest developments on IFRSs, practical suggestions for companies addressing IFRSs, updates on the regulatory environment, and references to relevant tools and resources.

Below are the download links and key features of the four new editions. We have permanent links to all IFRS Insights Here.

IFRS Insights Volume 10 (April-May 2009) (PDF 314k)

  • A feature about the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed IFRS roadmap
  • An article about IFRS and tax considerations related to share-based compensation plans
  • A brief overview of IAS 17 Leases
  • Preview of results from a recent IFRS poll
IFRS Insights Volume 9 (March 2009) (PDF 331k)
  • A feature on some lessons learned by companies implementing IFRS
  • An article discussing IFRS considerations for audit committees
  • A brief overview of International Accounting Standard (IAS) 38, Accounting for Intangible Assets
  • A preview of survey results about recent IFRS trends
IFRS Insights Volume 8 (February 2009) (PDF 604k)
  • A feature on the latest IFRS developments, including the revised Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) comment deadline for the proposed IFRS roadmap
  • An article discussing IFRS and human resources issues
  • A brief overview of International Accounting Standard (IAS) 37
  • Featured polling results about private companies and IFRS
IFRS Insights Volume 7 (January 2009) (PDF 209k)
  • A Q&A with Sir David Tweedie, the chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
  • An article about IFRS and state taxes
  • A brief overview of International Accounting Standard (IAS) 36 Impairment of Assets
  • Featured results from a recent IFRS poll

 

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Notes from special 1 June IASB meeting

02 Jun 2009

The IASB held a special meeting on Monday 1 June 2009 to continue its work on its comprehensive project to replace IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement.

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers at the Meeting.

 

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Over 3 million IFRS e-Learning modules downloaded

01 Jun 2009

As of 31 May 2009, 3,164,828 Deloitte IFRS e-learning modules have been downloaded by visitors to IAS Plus.

During 2008 alone, 1,070,387 modules were downloaded. Deloitte's IFRS e-learning was launched at the end of January 2004. Many of the downloaded modules have multiple users because organisations are permitted to install them on their own servers for the internal use of their employees or students. These figures do not include modules completed by Deloitte staff, who access the e-Learning on internal networks. You can always access IFRS e-Learning without charge by clicking here, or accessing the link on the IAS Plus home page. Thirty-seven modules are now available and regularly updated. We are making the Deloitte IFRS e-Learning available in the public interest without charge.

 

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