August

International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) formed to pursue sustainability accounting framework

03 Aug 2010

The Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have announced the formation of the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC). The IIRC aims to create a globally accepted framework for accounting for sustainability, bringing together financial, environmental, social and governance information in an "integrated" format.

The IIRC brings together a cross section of representatives from civil society and the corporate, accounting, securities, regulatory, NGO, IGO and standard-setting sectors. It comprises a Steering Committee and a Working Group. The Steering Committee is chaired by Sir Michael Peat, Principal Private Secretary to TRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Membership of the IIRC Steering Committee includes Sir David Tweedie (IASB Chairman), Robert H. Herz (FASB Chairman), Jane Diplock, (Chairperson, IOSCO Executive Committee), Robert Bunting (IFAC President), Jim Quigley (Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte), and many others.

More information about the IIRC follows:

Purpose of the IIRC

The IIRC is being created to respond to the need for a concise, clear, comprehensive and comparable integrated reporting framework structured around the organisation's strategic objectives, its governance and business model and integrating both material financial and non-financial information.

The objectives for an integrated reporting framework are to:

  • support the information needs of long-term investors, by showing the broader and longer-term consequences of decision-making
  • reflect the interconnections between environmental, social, governance and financial factors in decisions that affect long-term performance and condition, making clear the link between sustainability and economic value
  • provide the necessary framework for environmental and social factors to be taken into account systematically in reporting and decision-making
  • rebalance performance metrics away from an undue emphasis on short term financial performance
  • bring reporting closer to the information used by management to run the business on a day-to-day basis.

Role of the IIRC

The role of the IIRC is to:

  • raise awareness of this issue and develop a consensus among governments, listing authorities, business, investors, accounting bodies and standard setters for the best way to address it
  • develop an overarching integrated reporting framework setting out the scope of integrated reporting and its key components
  • identify priority areas where additional work is needed and provide a plan for development
  • consider whether standards in this area should be voluntary or mandatory and facilitate collaboration between standard-setters and convergence in the standards needed to underpin integrated reporting
  • promote the adoption of integrated reporting by relevant regulators and report preparers.

Click for press release (PDF 66k). The IIRC website can be accessed at www.integratedreporting.org

CESR publishes report on trends, risks and vulnerabilities in financial markets

03 Aug 2010

The Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has published a report on trends risks, and vulnerabilities that are directly relevant to securities markets regulators. Over the last decades, financial markets have been transformed by the rapid development of new financial instruments, the rise of new categories of key market participants, and a supportive technological environment. More recently, fundamental areas of the financial sectors have experienced a severe crisis. Going forward, CESR would like to contribute more to the understanding of these trends and risks and communicate its insights to the general public through regular reports.

The following findings, which are supported by thirteen detailed key trends, risks and vulnerabilities, are highlighted in the report:

  • In light of some global positive signs [...] a tendency to downplay the severity of the current crisis may emerge, accompanied by a reluctance to recognize the need for financial reforms. There is therefore a risk that urgently required regulatory measures are neither fully considered nor implemented in an appropriate way.
  • In fact, there are non negligible risks of a new deterioration in securities markets ahead [...]. [However, an] improvement has apparently been fuelled by the implementation of tough fiscal adjustment programmes in most European countries and the authorities' commitment to carry out stress tests in a significant number of European financial institutions and disclose the results.
  • The persistency of severe strains in the financial system was particularly evident in the fact that banks were still relying on the ECB's deposit facility for amounts which significantly exceed those observed in the aftermath of the Lehman default.
  • The financing requirements of countries and companies may become an issue in the near term.

Click for press release (PDF 120k). The report itself is available on CESR's website (PDF 3,310k). We have more information on the financial crisis on our credit crunch page.

IFRS publication in Spanish

02 Aug 2010

We have posted the following Spanish language IFRS in Focus publication from Deloitte (Colombia).

Fair Value Measurement – IASB and FASB joint webinar

02 Aug 2010

The IASB and FASB have posted a joint webinar to introduce their respective exposure drafts on fair value measurement.

IFRS for SMEs – additional training materials published

02 Aug 2010

The IFRS Foundation has published additional modules of its comprehensive set of training materials for the IFRS for SMEs.

There will be one training module for each of the 35 sections in the IFRS for SMEs, 20 are so far available, and the remaining 15 modules are planned for release in the next few months. Each module is one PDF file and can be downloaded without charge from the IFRS Foundation's Website. Click here to go to the Training Materials. Available modules cover Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, and 32 of the IFRS for SMEs. More information on the IFRS for SMEs is available in our IAS Plus page summarizing the IFRS for SMEs.

 

CESR issues Consultation Paper on central storage of regulated information (OAMs)

02 Aug 2010

The Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) has issued a Consultation Paper Development of Pan-European Access to Financial Information Disclosed by Listed Companies.

The introduction states, in part:

The aim of an OAM network would be to provide a one stop shop for end users (investors and other users of regulate information) looking for regulated information on listed companies. The existence of such a network would also facilitate the provision of added value services to investors (e.g. processed information, comparative information etc.).

Download the Consultation Paper from the CESR website. Comments are due by 24 September 2010.

IASB to hold webcast on insurance contracts exposure draft

01 Aug 2010

On 6 August 2010, the IASB staff will be hosting a webcast introducing the proposed standard on improvements to the accounting for insurance contracts.

As noted in our earlier story, ED/2010/8 Insurance Contracts was published on 30 July 2010 and is open for public comment until 30 November 2010.

There is no charge to participate in the webcast, but registration is required.

Webcast Topic: Insurance accounting

Date and Time: Friday 6 August, 10:00am and again at 3:00pm (London time)

More Information and Registration: Click Here (link to IASB website)

IAS Plus Resources: Insurance Contracts Project Page, Deloitte press release

The IASB has also made a podcast available, introducing the insurance contracts proposals. The podcast can be accessed via the IASB's website.

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