February

FASB trustees' statement on SEC work plan

28 Feb 2010

The Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), oversight body of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board, have issued a statement acknowledging "the SEC's leadership regarding its consideration of global accounting standards, including its continued support for the goal of a single set of high quality globally accepted accounting standards", as expressed in the Commission's recent Statement.

The FAF said:

Both the FAF and the FASB support the SEC's view that a single set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards will benefit US investors. This goal is consistent with our mission of providing high quality standards for investors and capital market participants, which help ensure fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and assist in capital formation.

The FASB continues to aggressively pursue the goal of a single set of high-quality accounting standards with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), as evidenced by intensified work efforts between the two Boards on the convergence projects identified in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the IASB.

Click to Download the FAF Statement (PDF 65k).

 

EU Parliament hearings discuss accounting

28 Feb 2010

The European Parliament's Special Committee on Financial, Economic and Social Crisis (CRIS) held a hearing on 25 February 2010 to examine financial regulation and supervision in Europe.

Accounting standards were among the issues discussed.
  • Bank of France governor Christian Noyer stressed 'the need for accounting standards to take account of the real risks'.
  • Bettina Corves-Wunderer, CFO of Allianz Italy said that 'untransparent and insufficiently harmonised accounting standards had also led to procyclical behaviour'.
Click to download Committee Press Release (PDF 126k).

 

Deloitte Canada IFRS transition newsletters

28 Feb 2010

Deloitte Canada has published the February 2010 issue of their Countdown IFRS transition newsletter, to discuss practical issues Canadian companies are facing in IFRS transition as well as to provide an update on recent IFRS events.

Articles in this issue include:
  • Under Pressure? Taking the stress out of IFRS!
  • The Real Deal – the focus this month is on the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)
  • Regulatory review of MD&A disclosures on IFRS transition
  • An update on international standard setting activities
Click below for: Related items:

Deloitte Dbriefs webcast on SEC's plan for IFRSs

27 Feb 2010

The SEC recently expressed its support for global accounting standards and announced a work plan for moving forward with IFRS in the United States.

What do you need to know now to better position your company for the future? This webcast will discuss:
  • An overview of the SEC statement and the work plan including SEC's key areas of concern regarding the use of IFRS by US issuers
  • A possible timeline for IFRS adoption in the United States
  • The importance of FASB's and IASB's convergence efforts and their current plans for completion in June 2011
There is no cost to participate, but you must register. Details:
  • Webcast Topic: International Financial Reporting Standards: SEC's Plans for Moving Forward
  • Date and Time: Tuesday, 9 March 2010, 2:00pm to 3:30pm US EST

 

Heads Up on the SEC's plan for IFRSs

27 Feb 2010

The latest Heads Up newsletter from Deloitte (United States) discusses the SEC's recently released Statement (a) expressing its strong commitment to the development of a single set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards and (b) directing the SEC staff to execute a 'Work Plan'.

The Work Plan sets out a detailed set of due diligence activities that the SEC staff will perform to provide the Commission with the information it needs to make a determination of whether, when, and how to incorporate IFRSs into the US financial reporting system. Click to titled Download the Heads Up Newsletter titled The Road to IFRSs Is Under Construction (PDF 144k).

 

Deloitte Dbriefs webcast on IFRSs and tax

27 Feb 2010

Many US companies still consider conversion to IFRSs as a faraway event.

But there are many ways tax executives can lay groundwork today that makes for smoother transition tomorrow. Deloitte (United States) will host a webcast on 29 March 2010 that will discuss:
  • Regulatory developments from the SEC, how they impact your conversion timeline and steps you can take to prepare
  • Tax implications of IFRS conversion in the U.S. and abroad, including global tax and treasury planning
  • Tax operations, including education and training, data blueprinting, and supporting software
  • Broader tax implications of IFRS conversion and how the tax function can drive value and potential funding opportunities for the process
There is no cost to participate, but you must register. Details:
  • Webcast Topic: IFRS and Tax – Driving Value through Advanced Preparation
  • Date and Time: Monday, 29 March 2010 2:00pm to 3:00pm US EDT
  • Host: Rita Benassi, Partner – Deloitte Tax LLP

 

Deloitte Canada IFRS update webcast

27 Feb 2010

IFRSs have now been incorporated into the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) Handbook.

Deloitte (Canada) will host a webcast on 23 March 2010 that will include a discussion of the following:
  • Review of the IASB project plan and status of key projects of interest to Canadian companies including rate regulated activities, consolidation, financial instruments, joint ventures, provisions and more
  • Update on the status of CSA draft proposals and recent commentary about management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) disclosures regarding IFRS transition
  • Obtain an overview of matters discussed by the AcSB's IFRS Discussion Group
  • Suggestions to improve your conversion activities throughout 2010
  • Webcast Topic: Q1 2010 IFRS technical update webcast
  • Date and Time: Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 2:00pm to 3:30pm EDT
  • Speakers: Karen Higgins, FCA, National Director Accounting Services; Diana De Acetis, CA, Partner; Glen Mitchell, CA, Senior Manager
  • More Information and Registration: Click Here
A French version of this webcast is offered on 7 April 2010, 2:00pm to 3:30pm EDT. Click here for Information.

 

Agenda for 4-5 March 2010 IFRIC meeting

26 Feb 2010

The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) will meet at the IASB's offices in London on Thursday and Friday 4 and 5 March 2010 (morning only on 5 March).

The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast. The tentative agenda is shown below.

Agenda for the IFRIC Meeting

Thursday and Friday, 4 and 5 March 2010

Thursday 4 March 2010 (10:00-18:00h London time)

  • Introduction
  • IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment – Accounting for production phase stripping costs in the mining industry
  • IFRS 2 Share-based Payment – Vesting and non-vesting conditions
  • Review of Tentative Agenda Decisions published in January 2010 IFRIC Update
    • IAS 21 The Effects of changes in Foreign Exchange Rates – Determination of functional currency of investment holding company
    • IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation – Debt/equity classification of instruments with obligation to deliver cash at the discretion of shareholders
    • IAS 36 Impairment of Assets – Transition provisions for IFRS 8 amendment
    • IAS 39 Financial Instruments Recognition and Measurement – Unit of account for forward contracts with volumetric optionality
  • Annual Improvements – 2008-2010 Cycle
    • Comment analysis for minor issues:
      • Accounting policy changes in the year of adoption (IFRS 1)
      • Clarification of statement of changes in equity (IAS 1)
      • Transition requirements for amendments made as a result of IAS 27R to IAS 21, IAS 28 and IAS 31
      • Fair value of award credit (IFRIC 13)
      • Accounting policy changes in the year of adoption (IFRS 1)
      • Clarification of statement of changes in equity (IAS 1)
      • Transition requirements for amendments made as a result of IAS 27R to IAS 21, IAS 28 and IAS 31
      • Fair value of award credit (IFRIC 13)
    • IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Unreplaced and voluntarily replaced share-based payment awards (comment letter analysis)
    • IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Measurement of NCI (review of examples)
    • IFRS 5 Non.current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations – Loss of significant influence over an associate or jointly controlled entity (comment letter analysis)
    • IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors – Change in terminology to the qualitative characteristics
    • IAS 40 Investment Property – Change from fair value model to cost model
  • Staff Recommendations for Tentative Agenda Decision
    • IFRS 1 First-time adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards – Accounting for costs included in self-constructed assets on transition
    • IFRS 5 Non.current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations – Reversal of impairment losses relating to goodwill
    • IAS 12 Income Taxes – Tax effect of distributions to equity holders
    • IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements – Comparative information

Friday 5 March (09:00-12:30h London time)

 

  • Staff Recommendations for Tentative Agenda Decision (continued from Thursday, if needed)
  • Annual Improvements 2009 – 2011 Cycle
    • IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards – Hard wire dates
    • IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Contingent consideration and first-time adoption
    • IFRS 8 Operating Segments – Determination of scope
    • IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates – Repayment of investment/CTA
    • IAS 26 Accounting and Reporting by Retirement Benefit Plans – Valuation of plan assets
    • IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting – Consistency in disclosure of total segment assets
  • Administrative Session – IFRIC work in progress

 

IFRS e-Learning in Spanish

26 Feb 2010

Several new modules have been added to Deloitte's Spanish Language IFRS e-Learning Site.

Currently, the following modules are available in Spanish for download without charge. They are:
  • Conceptual Framework (Marco Conceptual para la Preparación y Presentación de Estados Financieros)
  • IAS (NIC) 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 28, 29, 31, 38, 40, 41
  • IFRS (NIIF) 1, 5
Further Spanish language modules are in development and will be released to the site over forthcoming months. Click to view Deloitte's Spanish Language IFRS e-Learning site.

 

 

Deloitte IFRS University Consortium

26 Feb 2010

To assist accounting educators, Deloitte (United States) has created an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) University Consortium.

On the Consortium's Website, you will find a library of resources and complete, classroom-ready IFRS course materials, including slide decks from Deloitte subject matter leaders, and a series of case studies recently used as part of a graduate level accounting course. Click for a Brief Description (PDF 185k).

 

Correction list for hyphenation

These words serve as exceptions. Once entered, they are only hyphenated at the specified hyphenation points. Each word should be on a separate line.