2010

Notes from special December IASB meeting

08 Dec 2010

The IASB met in London on 8 December 2010 for a special joint meeting with the FASB.

The topics discussed were as follows:

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the meeting. The next IASB meeting is scheduled for 13-17 December 2010.

Financial Accounting Foundation to webcast FASB Meetings live

08 Dec 2010

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), responsible for the oversight of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), has announced the launch of a new video webcasting service.

The first meetings to be video webcast will be two FASB meetings taking place on Wednesday, 8 December:
  • The joint IASB-FASB meeting beginning at 8:00 a.m. EST (US)
  • the FASB weekly Board meeting, beginning at approximately 10:15 a.m. EST (US).

The webcasts will be available here.

IASB publishes IFRS Practice Statement on Management Commentary

08 Dec 2010

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has today published an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) Practice Statement 'Management Commentary', a broad, non-binding framework for the presentation of narrative reporting to accompany financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRSs.

Management commentary is a narrative report, that accompanies but is presented outside of the financial statements, setting out management's explanation of the enterprise's financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, and causes of changes in material line items. Many entities see management commentary as an important element of their communication with the capital markets, supplementing as well as complementing the financial statements.

The Practice Statement is not an IFRS. Consequently, entities applying IFRSs are not required to comply with the Practice Statement, unless specifically required by their jurisdiction. Furthermore, non-compliance with the Practice Statement will not prevent an entity's financial statements from complying with IFRSs, if they otherwise do so.

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An entity may apply the Practice Statement to management commentary presented prospectively from 8 December 2010.

SEC staff comments at AICPA National Conference

07 Dec 2010

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published transcripts of speeches made by its staff at a recent AICPA National Conference on current SEC and PCAOB Developments.

Mary L. Schapiro (SEC Chairman) focused on the role accountants have in restoring trust in capital markets, including comment on international convergence of auditing and accounting standards. Deloitte observers reported that Ms. Schapiro indicated in the Q&A session that the SEC is not working towards a 'hard' deadline of June 2011 in making its decision but expects to make a decision sometime in 2011 on whether or not to adopt IFRS in the United States. Ms. Shapiro further indicated that while comments from U.S. constituents have not expressed universal support for IFRS, they did almost unanimously comment requesting that sufficient time be given U.S. companies if IFRS is adopted. Ms. Shapiro stated it is likely at least a four-year preparation period will be permitted but remains a decision point for the Commission. An extract from the published text of her speech is reproduced below:

"... we are focusing on accounting standards and convergence. Because, investors should be able to make accurate comparisons and judgments regardless of an entity's line of business, ownership status or corporate domicile.

And so, the SEC continues to monitor the progress being made by the FASB and the IASB on the convergence of international accounting standards. As expected, the path towards convergence has proved steep and winding at times. But both Boards have responded to the challenges...

I am pleased with the progress to date and remain optimistic about achieving a convergence that benefits investors in the U.S. and around the world."

Brian T. Croteau (Deputy Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief Accountant) discussed the international convergence of auditing standards, noting:

"... I think we can and should think about convergence of auditing standards differently than convergence of accounting standards in that incremental requirements added by one standard setter do not necessarily preclude proper application of other standards or necessitate a conclusion that they are not 'converged' in the same way that accounting standards may lack convergence. For example, often an auditor can perform additional procedures in one set of standards without affecting the ability to have complied with the standards of another standard setter... On the other hand, when accounting standards lack convergence and the application results in differences in recognition or measurement, complying with two sets of standards simultaneously simply may not be a possibility and users end up receiving different financial reporting information. "

Lisa D. Watson (Professional Accounting Fellow) also spoke on accounting for foreclosed real estate involving loan participations and derecognition for transfers of businesses not in legal entities.

IFAC and A4S community website on sustainability reporting

07 Dec 2010

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and The Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) have created a 'community website' on sustainability reporting.

The objective of the website is to help business leaders, finance professionals, academics, professional accountancy bodies and others exchange ideas and share good practice on how environmental and social performance can be better connected with strategy and financial performance, and embedded into day-to-day operations and decision-making.

One of the aspects of the site is a discussion forum on various topics. The forum is currently discussing "Accountants and integrated reporting - A look at key challenges". This online discussion is focused on reflections from the World Congress of Accountants held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2010 and seeks to answer the question "Integrated reporting means different things to different people. What do you think 'integrated reporting' should look like?" The outcomes from the discussion are expected to be passed onto the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) to take into account in its activities and recommendations on integrated reporting during 2011.

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Webinar on the IASB's exposure draft on hedge accounting

06 Dec 2010

On 15 December 2010, Deloitte (UK) and Reval are hosting a webinar to discuss the IASB's exposure draft on hedge accounting.

The webinar will take a closer look at how the proposals could affect corporates. The webinar will cover, among other items:
  • The new effectiveness testing requirements
  • A new way to account for financial options used for hedging
  • Hedge accounting for risk components of non-financial items

This webinar is free of charge, however registration is required.

 

IFRS Illustrative Financial Statements for 2010 with early adoption of IFRS 9

06 Dec 2010

We have posted Deloitte's IFRS Illustrative Financial Statements for 2010 with early adoption of IFRS 9.

These model financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2010 illustrate the application of the presentation and disclosure requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) by an entity that is not a first-time adopter of IFRSs. They also illustrate the impact of the application of a number of new and revised Standards and Interpretations, including IFRS 9 Financial Instruments (as issued in November 2009 and revised in October 2010).

A PDF version of these model financial statements will be available soon and posted with our various IFRS model financial statements and related checklists, including translations, which are available Here

Click for Deloitte's IFRS Illustrative Financial Statements for 2010 with early adoption of IFRS 9 (ZIP of a Microsoft Word file 461k).

 

Special December IASB meeting on 8 December

06 Dec 2010

The special joint IASB/FASB meeting on 8 December 2010 has been brought forward by one hour to 13:00 GMT.

The topic to be discussed is still Financial Instruments: Impairment.

Live webcasts on ED Financial Instruments — Hedge Accounting

04 Dec 2010

On Monday 13 December staff of the IASB will present two webcasts about the ED Financial Instruments — Hedge Accounting which is expected to come out next week.

Agenda for the December 2010 IASB meeting

03 Dec 2010

The IASB's regular monthly meeting is scheduled for 13-17 December 2010 in London, part of it a joint meeting with the FASB.

You can access the agenda on our December 2010 IASB meeting page. We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available.

 

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