This newsletter provides brief descriptions of pronouncements affecting accounting, financial reporting, and corporate governance issued during 3Q-2010 by standard setters and regulators including FASB, EITF, AICPA, SEC, FASAB, PCAOB, GASB, IASB, IFRIC, and IAASB. This quarterly review consists of articles, adapted as necessary, from issues of Accounting Roundup published in July and August 2010, as well as new articles for the month of September. You will find past issues Here. International and IFRS-related developments covered in this edition of Accounting Roundup include:

• Consolidation: FASB roundtable to solicit input on the IASB Staff Draft on Consolidated Financial Statements
• Extractive Activities — Mining: Proposed guidance issued by the IFRS Interpretations Committee
• Fair Value Measurement and Disclosures: IASB Staff Draft
• Financial Services — Insurance: IASB Exposure Draft on Insurance Contracts
• Income Taxes: Proposed amendment to IAS 12
• Leases: Proposed guidance from the IASB and FASB on lease accounting
• Presentation of Financial Statements: Proposed changes to financial statement presentation, and proposed amendments to IFRS 1
• SME Implementation Group: IFRS Foundation appoints members
• XBRL: IFRS taxonomy updated for Improvements to IFRSs

Click for Accounting Roundup: Third Quarter in Review — 2010 (PDF 1,552k, 44 pages).

 

The FAF currently oversees the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), which sets standards for nongovernmental entities such as publicly traded and privately held companies, and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), which handles the standards for state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting. However, much of FASB's work has been devoted to the needs of public companies and their auditors, therefore Melancon states:

The Blue Ribbon Panel on Private Company Standard Setting will meet in the AICPA's offices in New York on Oct. 8 and we anticipate based on the preliminary conclusions during prior meetings it will vote to recommend a new model of financial reporting that will generate truly differentiated standards for private companies. Crucial to the effective implementation of that recommendation is establishing a separate standard setting board under the Financial Accounting Foundation to provide a comprehensive solution to the problem of private company accounting. This has been a long time coming and I believe the case for a separate private company standards board under the oversight of the FAF is stronger than ever.

The IASB has developed the IFRS for SMEs that can be used by private companies. However, even though there have been calls not to overlook IFRS for SMEs (see our earlier story) a 'home grown' alternative to the possible adoption of the IFRS for SMEs seems to be preferred in the United States as IFRS has not yet been approved by the SEC for use by U.S. public companies.

The Panel was established to receive high-level input about how to address the convergence for non-consolidated financial statements and to provide consensus recommendations to the ASBJ. More information on the Panel's establishment and its members is available in the ASBJ's press release (link to ASBJ website, PDF 17k). More information on the use of IFRSs in Japan is available on our Japan Country Page.

 

This single conceptual framework will serve as the foundation for the development of financial accounting and reporting guidance based on consistent principles. The new chapters are not a part of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification, which means they are not a source of authoritative GAAP.

Click to download:

• Heads Up newsletter FASB and IASB Complete First Phase of Joint Project on Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (PDF 116k)
• Access to the FASB 'Concepts Statement 8' (link to FASB website)
• Our summary of the financial framework project

 

Amendments to IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures: Transition requirements — Amendment to IFRS 1. The updated agenda is available here.

Preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting are now available on our Post-Employment Benefits Project Page.

 

Generally, the amendments affect continuous disclosure rules, prospectus rules, certification rules, registration materials and smaller changes to various instruments. Assuming that all required Ministerial approvals are granted, the amendments will come into force on 1 January 2011.

They debate the similarities and differences in the classification models proposed by both Boards (summary of IASB proposals; summary of FASB proposals). The discussion is chaired by Robert Bruce. The podcast is available for download here (19:30 mins, 23mb) or via iTunes; it is the first in a series that will be posted to IAS Plus.

 

You can access the agenda on our 5 October 2010 IASB meeting page. We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available.

Click for IASB emite borrador para discusión pública sobre la contabilidad del arrendamiento (PDF 82k). Here is the English version: IFRS in Focus – IASB issues Exposure Draft on Lease Accounting (PDF 128k).