February

ESMA extends comment deadline on materiality consultation paper

16 Feb 2012

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has extended the comment period to consultation paper Considerations of materiality in financial reporting.

ESMA had published the paper in November 2011, for comments from interested parties regarding their understanding of various aspects of materiality so an uniform application of this concept can be formulated. Comments deadline is now extended to 30 March 2012.

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has, accordingly, extended the comment period on its draft consultation paper to 16 March 2012.

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IFRS Foundation conference in Europe announced

16 Feb 2012

The IFRS Foundation announced the dates for its conference in Europe, which will be held in Frankfurt, Germany on 27 and 28 June 2012.

The conference will feature presentations by Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman, Ian Mackintosh, Vice-Chairman, and other IASB members, senior IASB technical staff, and IFRS experts. The conference will provide an update on the active projects and plans of the IASB. Some of the highlights of the conference topics include the following:

  • IASB update
    • Update on IASB's future agenda consultation
    • Current agenda projects
    • Recently issued standards
    • Interpretations and annual improvements
    • Post-implementation reviews
  • Perspectives on IFRS
  • Financial Instruments
    • Replacement of IAS 39

There will also be pre-conference special interest sessions from 9:30 to 12:00 on 27 June 2012 on the implementation of IFRS 10, IFRS 11, IFRS 12, and IFRS 13.

Additional conference details, including registration, are available here.

Sustainability and integrated reporting update

14 Feb 2012

A summary of recent developments in sustainability reporting, integrated reporting and related topics, focused on developments from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a report from CPA Australia and a survey from the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB).

The topics are as follows:

  • Australian GRI Conference on Sustainability and Integrated Reporting. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), with the support of the Australian government, is holding its inaugural regional Conference in Melbourne, Australia on 26-28 March 2012. The outcomes of this conference are designed to help inform GRI’s thinking on integrated reporting and the next generation of its Sustainability Reporting Guidelines ("G4"). More information is available at www.australiangriconference.org
  • New sustainability reporting requirements in Brazil and India. The São Paulo stock exchange and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have recently introduced new sustainability reporting requirements. More information is available in this article from the GRI (link to GRI website)
  • Impact of sustainability issues on capital investment decisions. CPA Australia has published a report outlining preliminary findings on current practices around the integration of sustainability issues in investment decisions. The report is available on the CPA Australia website (PDF 1488k)
  • Carbon reporting survey. The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) is undertaking a survey on the disclosure of climate change related-information under the increasing number of mandatory and voluntary reporting frameworks. The survey can be accessed through the CDSB website
  • Reporting guidance for event organisers. GRI has published an 'Event Organizers Sector Supplement' (EOSS) to its sustainability reporting guidelines. More information is available in this article from the GRI (link to GRI website).

Click for our sustainability page.

IFRS Foundation translations update

14 Feb 2012

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

  • Azeri translation of the 2011 requirements, and new and revised standards issued since 1 January 2011. These documents can be accessed on the eIFRS site (eIFRS subscribers only).
  • French translation of the exposure draft Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The French translation is available on the comment on a proposal web page.
  • French translations of two amendments to standards, (1) Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IAS 32) and (2) Disclosures—Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IFRS 7). These documents can be accessed on the eIFRS site (eIFRS subscribers only).
  • Kazakh translation of the 2011 requirements of IFRSs. The document can be accessed on the public website.
  • Russian translation of the requirements applicable on 1 January 2012. The document can be accessed on the public website.
  • Spanish translations of three amendments to standards, (1) Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IAS 32), (2) Disclosures—Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IFRS 7), and (3) Mandatory Effective Date of IFRS 9 and Transition Disclosures (Amendments to IFRS 9 (2009), IFRS 9 (2010) and IFRS 7). These documents can be accessed on the eIFRS site (eIFRS subscribers only).

Deloitte summary of public sector standards

13 Feb 2012

Deloitte has published the 2012 edition of 'IPSAS Summary', which provides a summary of the provisions of all International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) on issue at 1 February 2012.

A number of countries are currently considering whether to adopt IPSAS for public sector entities or non-profit organisations. For instance, New Zealand is currently considering a regime for 'Public benefit entities (PBE)' which would see the establishment of a set of 'NZ PBE standards' based on IPSAS modified as appropriate for New Zealand circumstances and not-for-profit entities.

Many IPSAS are based on equivalent International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), with adjustments for matters specific to the public sector. As such, the IPSAS require accrual based accounting which is not always applied by public sector entities in many countries of the world. The Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) late last year called for many more countries to adopt IPSAS, particularly in light of the "growing number of sovereign debt concerns arising around the world".

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IASB announces public roundtable meetings on its agenda consultation

13 Feb 2012

The IASB plans to hold a series of public roundtable meetings for its Request for Views Agenda Consultation 2011.

The date and location of upcoming roundtable meetings are as follows (location time shown):

  • Norwalk, CT, USA — 13 March 2012 13:00-15:30
  • Toronto, ON, Canada — 14 March 2012 10:00-12:30
  • London, UK — 23 March 2012 (time to be announced)

Those who wish to participate in the USA or Canada roundtable meetings must register by 5 March 2012; for the UK meeting, registration deadline is 12 March 2012. Click for IASB announcement (link to IASB website).

PAIB report considers growing investor demand for non-financial information

10 Feb 2012

The Professional Accountants in Business Committee (PAIB) of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a report considering trends in investor demand for, and use of, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information.

The report notes that ESG information is increasingly used by investors to understand an organisation's key ESG factors and how they impact overall performance over a longer time horizon. The reporting includes an appendix which outlines the core sector-neutral ESG metrics demanded by investors and reconciles them to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines - these include such items as greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy use, workplace health and safety and board effectiveness.

The report also recommends how professional accountants can better support their organisations in responding to investor demands for ESG information, and ultimately improve the management and reporting of ESG performance. The recommendations include:

  • Professional accountants should work with their organisations to implement a structured and systematic approach to engaging investors to determine their ESG information needs
  • ESG factors and performance information should be incorporated into governance and accountability arrangements to improve information and disclosure quality
  • Financial and non-financial performance and outcomes should be linked to improve understanding of sustainable value creation
  • Investor needs should be met by material, timely, consistent, and comparable information
  • Data that may be dispersed in different parts of the organisation or its supply chain should be brought together to support internal and external decision making.

Click for access to the report (link to IFAC website).

ASBJ and FASB meet to discuss convergence

10 Feb 2012

Representatives of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) met on 6 and 7 February 2012, in Norwalk, Connecticut. This meeting was the twelfth in a series of discussions between the ASBJ and the FASB.

At this meeting, the ASBJ and the FASB updated each other with the recent developments in their respective convergence projects with the IASB. Furthermore, the ASBJ and the FASB exchanged views on the credit impairment model for financial assets, classification and measurement of financial instruments and insurance contracts, hedge accounting, revenue recognition, leases and investment companies projects being undertaken by the FASB and the IASB.

The next joint meeting is planned in the second half of 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.

Click for FASB press release (link to the FASB website).

Updated Due Process Handbook

10 Feb 2012

The IFRS Foundation has updated its Due Process Handbook.

This updated version contains amendments made by the Trustees during 2011.

Click to view the updated IASB Due Process Handbook (PDF 304k, link to IASB website).

IFRS Taxonomy Convention 2012

10 Feb 2012

The annual IFRS Taxonomy conference will be held on 25 April 2012 in London.

Experts from the international financial reporting, XBRL and international regulatory communities will discuss how XBRL International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) can be implemented.

Click for more information on the conference (link to IASB website).

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