2010

Notes from special December IASB meeting

01 Dec 2010

The IASB met in London on 1 December 2010 for IASB and FASB special meeting.

The FASB staff joined the meeting via teleconference. The topics discussed were as follows:
  • Scope — short-term trade receivables
  • Scope — individual financial instruments
  • Allocation of expected losses
  • Good book/bad book consideration

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the meeting. The next IASB meeting will be a special meeting on Income Taxes scheduled for 3 December 2010.

New Australian Accounting Alert discusses December AASB meeting outcomes

30 Nov 2010

Deloitte (Australia) has published Accounting Alert 2010/13, dealing with the outcomes from the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) meeting held on 27-28 October 2010.

 

At its meeting on 8-9 December 2010, the AASB closed out 2010 with agreement to finalise a number of pronouncements early in 2011 (some by out-of-session vote): Trans-Tasman convergence standards, a superannuation exposure draft, equivalents to the IASB's consolidation suite of standards and a revised Conceptual Framework which will be equivalent to the IASB's revised Framework for for-profit entities.

Click to access Accounting Alert 2010/13.

Deloitte Canada IFRS transition newsletters

30 Nov 2010

Deloitte Canada has published the November 2010 issue of their Countdown IFRS transition newsletter.

This discusses 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:

  • Lease accounting: IASB's Exposure Draft may significantly change the financial reporting of leases
  • The Real Deal — the focus this month is on IFRS 1 and transition to IFRSs
  • An update on Canadian and international standard setting activities

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Updated convergence report and IASB work plan

30 Nov 2010

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have published an updated Progress report on their convergence efforts.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have published an updated Progress report on their convergence efforts.

The report provides an update on progress under the Memorandum of Understanding between the IASB and FASB on the convergence of IFRSs and US generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) and confirms many of the decisions made at recent meetings of the boards.

The report confirms a target completion date of June 2011 or earlier for the following priority projects:

  • joint projects on financial instruments, revenue recognition, leases, the presentation of other comprehensive income, and fair value measurement
  • IASB projects on consolidation and insurance contracts.

In order to meet the June 2011 deadline, consideration of a number of other projects has been deferred until after June 2011, or timetables extended. This includes four joint projects, the investment company aspects of the consolidation project, and a number of independent projects of both boards.

The IASB has updated its Work Plan to reflect the above changes and provide more detail of the expected timing of pronouncements. A summary of the expected timing under the revised work plan is provided below (all pronouncements are finalised standards, unless otherwise noted):

Pronouncements expected by the end of calendar 2010

Pronouncements expected in the first quarter of 2011

Pronouncements expected in the second quarter of 2011

Projects deferred to after June 2011

  • Joint projects deferred as noted in the progress report - financial statement presentation (comprehensive project), financial statements with characteristics of equity, emissions trading schemes, conceptual framework (reporting entity)
  • Other projects - liabilities (replacement for IAS 37), income taxes, rate-regulated activities, extractive activities, common control, earnings per share, government grants and intangible assets.

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French translation of our IFRS in Focus newsletter on revisions to IFRS 9

30 Nov 2010

We've posted a French translation of our IFRS in Focus newsletter on revisions to IFRS 9, prepared by Deloitte (Canada): 'L'IASB publie des ajouts à l'IFRS 9 concernant la comptabilisation des passifs financiers'.

We comment on proposals to amend the Due Process Handbook

30 Nov 2010

Deloitte has submitted a comment letter on the IFRS Foundation Trustees' Invitation to Comment, The Annual Improvements Process: Proposals to amend the Due Process Handbook for the IASB.

We support the efforts to enhance the process for making improvements to IFRSs, including amendments to IFRSs to clarify guidance and wording or to correct unintended consequences, conflicts or oversights. We think that the criteria proposed in the Consultation Document are appropriate when identifying discrete issues in IFRSs that need to be resolved. However, we recommend that the remit of the IFRS Interpretations Committee be broadened so it can prepare draft amendments to IFRSs (including Implementation Guidance) to help ensure that urgent or emerging accounting issues are identified and addressed in a timely and efficient manner. Click to Download our Comment Letter (PDF 57k). All of our past comment letters are here.

We comment on Draft IFRIC Interpretation DI/2010/1

30 Nov 2010

Deloitte has submitted a comment letter on Draft IFRIC Interpretation DI/2010/1 Stripping Costs in the Production Phase of a Surface Mine.

The IFRS Interpretations Committee has reached the conclusion that costs associated with a stripping campaign' should be accounted for as an additional component of an existing asset, and that this component should be written down over the reserves that directly benefit from the campaign.

We do not support the finalisation of this draft Interpretation. Much of the current apparent diversity in practice tends to be due to the underlying physical differences in mines and we are not convinced that the current practice produces results that are sufficiently inappropriate to warrant the publication of a final interpretation. We are also concerned about the Committee attempting to address specific issues on extractive activities on a piecemeal basis rather than through the IASB project. Click to Download our Comment Letter (PDF 90k). All of our past comment letters are here.

Deloitte newsletter on IFRSs in Canada

30 Nov 2010

The November edition of Deloitte Canada's IFRS newsletter Countdown has been issued.

This edition focuses on:
  • Lease accounting: IASB's Exposure Draft may significantly change the financial reporting of leases
  • IFRS 1 review prior to transition to IFRSs
  • An update on Canadian and international standard setting activities
Click here to download the November 2010 edition of Countdown (PDF 729k). A French translation is also available (PDF 1,307k). Click here to visit our Canada country page.

 

IFRS Foundation translations update

29 Nov 2010

The IFRS Foundation has announced the publication of the following translations:

  • Armenian and Simplified Chinese translations of the IFRS for SMEs. The translations can be accessed via the IASB's IFRS for SMEs webpage. You will need to be a registered user to access the translation. Registration is free of charge.
  • Japanese translation of the Request for Views on Effective Dates and Transition Methods that was published in English by the IASB in October 2010. The Request for Views in English, French and Japanese can be accessed here.
  • Japanese translation of the Staff Draft of Exposure Draft IFRS X: Financial Statement Presentation that was published in English by the IASB on 1 July 2010. The Staff Draft can be accessed via the IASB's Staff Draft webpage.
  • Japanese translation of A Briefing for Chief Executives, Audit Committees & Boards of Directors 2010 that was published in English by the IASB in August 2010. Available for free for eIFRS subscribers, available to purchase from the IASB's web shop.
  • Spanish translations of DisclosuresTransfers of Financial Assets (Amendments to IFRS 7) and the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting 2010, on the IASB's New and revised standards webpage (eIFRS subscribers only).

 

Canadian regulator provides first-time adoption tips

29 Nov 2010

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) of Canada has published Top 10 Tips for Public Companies Filing Their First IFRS Interim Financial Report.

With Canada transitioning to IFRS from 2011, the guide is designed as a series of pointers for Canadian public companies to consider in preparing for the transition. Many of the ideas are generic and may be useful to first-time adopters in other jurisdictions as well.

An summary of the tips provided in the guide are outlined below:

Top 10 tips for public companies filing their first IFRS interim financial report

  1. Changes to acceptable accounting principles - clearly identifying accounting principles used in all financial information released
  2. Auditor involvement with regulatory filings - ensure that the financial information released in the first three quarters of 2011 is accurate and will not require restatement after the annual audit
  3. Q1 filing extension for first time IFRS filers - extended by 30 days for the first quarter only
  4. Consequences of missing financial statement filing deadlines - represents a significant breach of Canadian securities law
  5. IFRS financial statement presentation - impact on continuous disclosure rules
  6. Key financial statement notes in the first IFRS interim financial report - should contain sufficient information to enable investors to understand how the transition to IFRS affected previously reported results
  7. Required reconciliations under IFRS 1 - including examples
  8. Management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) - whether changes in reported results are caused by the adoption of different accounting policies or from changes in underlying business activities
  9. CEO/CFO certification - impacts on standard formats
  10. Prospectus and other offering issues - changes to acceptable accounting principles, auditor involvement with offer documents, and IFRS financial statement presentation in offer documents.

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