February

IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) (old) Image

Deloitte summary of IPSASs

22 Feb 2010

Deloitte has published a booklet summarising the provisions of all International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) issued by IFAC's International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) as of 1 February 2010, namely IPSASs 1 to 31. The booklet also summarises a draft of IPSAS 32 not yet approved by the IPSASB.

Those summaries are intended as general information and are not a substitute for reading the entire Standard. Click to download Deloitte's IPSAS Summary Booklet (PDF 414k).

 

PCAOB (US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) (dark gray) Image

PCAOB issues Q&A on engagement quality review

22 Feb 2010

The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has published Staff Question and Answer on Auditing Standard No 7 Engagement Quality Review.

AS 7 provides a framework for the engagement quality reviewer to objectively evaluate the significant judgments made and related conclusions reached by the engagement team in forming an overall conclusion about the engagement.
Click for:

 

IASB (International Accounting Standards Board) (blue) Image

Working draft of the Liabilities IFRS is available

22 Feb 2010

The IASB staff has released a Working Draft of the Liabilities IFRS (planned successor to IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets).

The working draft is based on proposals published for comment in 2005, amended for decisions the IASB has taken in the light of comments it received. In particular, the Board has decided to provide more guidance on applying the proposed measurement requirements. On 5 January 2010 it published for public comment a Re-exposure Draft of the proposed new guidance. Comments are requested by 12 April 2010. The Working Draft of the final IFRS is on the IASB's public website Project Page.

 

IPSASB (International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board) (mid gray) Image

IPSASB proposes service concession accounting by grantors

22 Feb 2010

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) is seeking comments on a proposed standard on accounting for service concession arrangements by the grantor.

Service concession arrangements – often called Private-Public Partnerships or PPPs – involve an operator providing services to the public on behalf of a grantor, which is usually the government or another public sector entity. For many countries, such arrangements are a means to ensure large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the building of roads and airports, can be developed and provided to the public for use. However, in some cases, they are not recognized in the financial statements, effectively concealing the financial position of the grantor. IPSASB has proposed guidance on how grantors should recognise, account for, and disclose assets in service concession arrangements. Currently, there is no international standard to address the accounting for such arrangements from the grantor's perspective. IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements applies only to the operators of these arrangements. Click for IPSASB Press Release (PDF 35k).

 

IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) (dark gray) Image

IOSCO Principles for Periodic Disclosure by Listed Entities

22 Feb 2010

The Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a report Principles for Periodic Disclosure by Listed Entities.

The report includes a set of recommendations for disclosures that could be provided in the periodic reports, particularly annual reports, of entities whose securities are listed or admitted to trading on a regulated market in which retail investors participate. The disclosure principles also cover other issues related to periodic disclosure, such as the timeliness of disclosures, disclosure criteria, and storage of information. The principles are intended to provide a useful framework for securities regulators that are reviewing or revising their regulatory disclosure regime for periodic reports.

The IOSCO report identifies the following principles as essential for any periodic disclosure regime:

  1. Periodic reports should contain relevant information (the IOSCO report elaborates on this principle in considerable detail)
  2. For those periodic reports in which financial statements are included, the persons responsible for the financial statements provided should be clearly identified, and should state that the financial information provided in the report is fairly presented
  3. The issuer's internal control over financial reporting should be assessed or reviewed
  4. Information should be available to the public on a timely basis
  5. Periodic reports should be filed with the relevant regulator
  6. The information should be stored to facilitate public access to the information
  7. Disclosure criteria (including fair presentation, not misleading, no material omissions, clear and concise language)
  8. Equal access to disclosure by all investors at the same time
  9. Equivalence of disclosure in all markets in which the entity is listed
Click to download:
2010feb.gif Image

Agenda project pages updated

21 Feb 2010

We have updated the following IASB agenda project pages on IAS Plus to reflect the discussions and decisions at the IASB's February 2010 Board meeting and joint meeting with FASB:

IFRIC (International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee) (blue) Image

Nominations invited for IFRIC membership

21 Feb 2010

The IASC Foundation has invited applications for candidates to fill up to four vacancies on the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) for terms that will expire on 30 June 2013. IFRIC is the interpretative body of the IASB.

Members are expected to attend about six two-day meetings each year held in London. Membership is unpaid, but the IASC Foundation meets members' expenses of travel on IFRIC business. Click for More Information on IASB's website.

 

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) (mid blue) Image

Comments invited on proposed 2010 IFRS XBRL taxonomy

21 Feb 2010

The IASC Foundation invited comment on the proposed IFRS XBRL taxonomy for 2010. The proposed taxonomy is consistent with both full IFRSs and the IFRS for Small and Medium-sized Entities.

A separate taxonomy for the IFRS for SMEs will not be issued. The IFRS Taxonomy 2010 is a translation of IFRSs as issued at 1 January 2010 into XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language). Comments on the proposed IFRS Taxonomy 2010 are invited by 22 April 2010. The proposed taxonomy and related material can be accessed Here. The final version is expected to be released at the end of April 2010.

 

2010feb.gif Image

Notes from Feb 2010 IASB meeting day 5

20 Feb 2010

The IASB held its February 2010 monthly Board meeting at its offices in London on Monday to Friday, 15-19 February 2010.

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

Currency (dk gray) Image

Hyperinflationary economies

19 Feb 2010

Both IFRSs and US GAAP require that the financial statements of an entity that reports in the currency of a hyperinflationary economy should be stated in terms of the measuring unit current at the balance sheet date.

In other words, the amounts in those financial statements must be restated for changes in the general purchasing power of the reporting currency. For a number of years, the International Practices Task Force of the American Institute of CPAs has published unofficial guidance on the inflation status of countries that appear to be at or near the hyperinflation level. The AICPA (through its Center for Audit Quality) has just released CAQ Alert #2010-11 Monitoring Inflation Status of Certain Countries The Alert states the following view of the Task Force:

The following countries should continue to be considered highly inflationary as of 30 September 2009:

  • Myanmar
  • Zimbabwe
The following country should be considered highly inflationary for periods beginning on or after 1 December 2009:
  • Venezuela
The following countries are on the Task Force's inflation 'watch list':
  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Ethiopia
  • Guinea
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Seychelles
Click to Download CAQ Alert #2010-11 (PDF 65k), which is copyright by Center for Audit Quality and posted on IAS Plus with their kind permission.

 

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.