March

Brazil, China, India join IOSCO Technical Committee

04 Mar 2009

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has expanded its Technical Committee to include the securities regulatory authorities from Brazil, China, and India.

IOSCO is the global consortium of securities regulators. The Technical Committee, comprising agencies that regulate some of the world's larger, more developed and internationalised markets, deals with major regulatory issues related to international securities and futures transactions. IFRSs and financial reporting in general are part of the Technical Committee's scope of responsibility. Click for Technical Committee Announcement (PDF 125k).

Update on IFRS for NPAEs

03 Mar 2009

We have posted an article 'An IFRS for Private Entities' by Paul Pacter, the IASB's Director of Standards for Non-publicly Accountable Entities and webmaster of IAS Plus.

The article (PDF 142k) is from the February 2009 issue of the International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, is copyright 2009 by Palgrave Macmillan, and has been posted on IAS Plus with their kind permission. The article discusses:
  • the IASB's reasons for issuing an IFRS for private entities [the name has been changed to IFRS for Non-publicly Accountable Entities],
  • the types of entities at which it is aimed,
  • what the IASB proposed in the ED and why,
  • what the IASB has not proposed, and why not,
  • how the IASB reached the conclusions that it did,
  • how the IASB plans to maintain the standard after it is issued,
  • comment letter responses to and field testing of the ED,
  • the IASB's re-deliberations,
  • the remaining steps leading to a final IFRS, and
  • plans for training materials.

 

Four comment deadlines in March

02 Mar 2009

We remind you that comments are due this month on three IASB exposure drafts and on part two of the IASC Foundation constitution review, as follows.

International Accounting Standards Board

International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation

EC consults on revisions to Accounting Directives

01 Mar 2009

The European Commission has invited comments on simplification of the 4th and 7th Company Law Directives for small and medium-sized entities (SMEs), Concurrently the Commission has proposed giving Member States an option to exempt micro-sized SMEs from the 4th Directive altogether.

The current consultation aims at raising issues relating to the modernisation and simplification of the Accounting Directives. The kinds of issues on which comments are requested include:

  • Structure of the Directives
  • General principles of accounting recognition and measurement
  • Size criteria for micros, small, medium, and large entities
  • Which financial statements should be required for each category
  • Electronic filing
  • Financial statement formats
  • Footnotes
  • Valuation (measurement) issues
  • Consolidation requirements

Comments are requested by 30 April 2009. The Commission expects to complete its analysis of the comments and to present proposed revisions to the Directives to the European Parliament by the end of 2009.

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FEE does not support EC micro proposal

01 Mar 2009

On 26 February 2009, the European Commission released a proposal to give EU Member States an option to exempt micro (tiny) entities from the 4th Accounting Directive. The European Federation of Accountants (FEE) has issued a statement expressing doubt the proposal 'is fit for purpose' and questioning whether it would achieve its objection of reducing burden on small companies.

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EU supervision report criticises IASB

01 Mar 2009

The 'High-level Group on Financial Supervision in the EU' has published its Report that makes 18 detailed recommendations to strengthen supervision of the EU's financial institutions and markets.

The report addresses:

  • how to organise the supervision of financial institutions and markets in the EU
  • how to strengthen European cooperation on financial stability oversight, early warning, and crisis mechanisms; and
  • how EU supervisors should cooperate globally.

Throughout the Report, accounting is cited as one of the causes of the current global financial crisis. The Report urges that the IASB or supervisors set limits on mark-to-market accounting:

To ensure convergence of accounting practices and a level playing-field at the global level, it should be the role of the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) to foster the emergence of a consensus as to where and how the mark-to-market principle should apply – and where it should not. The IASB must, to this end, open itself up more to the views of the regulatory, supervisory and business communities. This should be coupled with developing a far more responsive, open, accountable and balanced governance structure. If such a consensus does not emerge, it should be the role of the international community to set limits to the application of the mark-to-market principle.

The following is Recommendation #4 of the Report:

Recommendation 4: With respect to accounting rules the Group considers that a wider reflection on the mark-to-market principle is needed and in particular recommends that:
  • expeditious solutions should be found to the remaining accounting issues concerning complex products;
  • accounting standards should not bias business models, promote pro-cyclical behaviour or discourage long-term investment;
  • the IASB and other accounting standard setters should clarify and agree on a common, transparent methodology for the valuation of assets in illiquid markets where mark-to-market cannot be applied;
  • the IASB further opens its standard-setting process to the regulatory, supervisory and business communities;
  • the oversight and governance structure of the IASB be strengthened.

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Spanish version of the SEC's IFRS Roadmap

01 Mar 2009

Deloitte (Colombia) has published 'Hoja de Ruta Para el Uso Potencial de Estados Financieros Preparados de Acuerdo con los Estándares Internacionales de Informatión Financiera, por Parte de los Emisores de los Estados Unidos' – which is the Spanish version of the US SEC's 'Roadmap for the Potential User of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with IFRSs by US Issuers'.

The Roadmap was issued by the SEC on 14 November 2008. The Roadmap sets forth several milestones that, if achieved, could lead to the required use of IFRS by US issuers in 2014. The SEC's deadline for commenting on the Roadmap is 20 April 2009.

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Correction list for hyphenation

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