2012

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IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board and Trustees conclude their governance and strategy reviews

09 Feb 2012

The IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board and Trustees have jointly issued their separate reviews of the governance and strategy of the IFRS Foundation.

The two reviews are independent of each other but co ordinated to display their common goal of supporting the IFRS Foundation in creating quality global accepted standards.

In the Trustees' report IFRSs as the Global Standards: Setting a Strategy for the Foundation’s Second Decade the Trustees recommended four areas that the IFRS Foundation should focus on. The four areas outlined in the report are (1) the IFRS Foundation mission, specifically the public interest served by the Foundation's work; (2) governance; (3) the process and procedures used by the Foundation and the IASB; and (4) the organisation's financing.

In the Monitoring Board's review Final Report on the Review of the IFRS Foundation's Governance the Monitoring Board primarily reviewed institutional aspects of governance. Specifically, the review focused on the composition and the respective roles and responsibilities of the Monitoring Board, Trustees and the IASB.

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IFRS Foundation translation update

07 Feb 2012

The IFRS Foundation has announced the publication of the Arabic translation of IFRS for SMEs training Module 7 'Statement of Cash Flows'.

The Arabic translation is available on the IASB's Arabic-language training modules webpage.
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IFRS Foundation appoints David Loweth as inaugural 'Director for Trustee Activities'

06 Feb 2012

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the appointment of David Loweth as Director for Trustee Activities.

Mr Loweth currently serves as Technical Director of the United Kingdom (UK) Accounting Standards Board (ASB). Before joining the UK ASB in 2004, Mr Loweth held various senior roles in the UK Treasury.

The Trustees have created the role of Director for Trustee Activities in response to the preliminary conclusions of their IFRS Foundation Strategy Review. The review called for higher levels of engagement and transparency between the IASB and the Trustees, particularly in the area of due process oversight. The review also recommends clearer separation of the roles and responsibilities of the Foundation and of the IASB. Mr Loweth will support the work of the Trustees as they fulfil these enhanced responsibilities.

Click for Trustees press release (link to IASB website).

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IASB to publish next edition of the 'Red Book' in March

06 Feb 2012

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has announced that the 2012 edition of the Bound Volume of International Financial Reporting Standards(the 'Red Book') is expected to be available in March.

The 'Red Book' contains all official pronouncements issued at 1 January 2012, including all pronouncements with an effective date after 1 January 2012, but not the pronouncements they will replace. Accordingly, the 2012 edition contains pronouncements such as IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements, IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities and IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurements, but does not contain the superseded version of IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements.

More information is available on the IASB's 'register my interest' webpage (link to IASB website).

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AOSSG to meet in March

06 Feb 2012

The Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG) has announced it will hold an informal meeting co-hosted by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) on Sunday 25 March 2012, 2:30-5:30pm.

The meeting will be held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur and involve discussions on recent developments in active AOSSG and IASB projects with members of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Attendees at the meeting include IASB Vice-Chairman, a number of other IASB members and senior staff, and National Standard-Setters from throughout the region.

The meeting joins numerous other standard setter meetings being held in Malaysia in March (see our earlier story).

Click for the AOSSG announcement (link to AOSSG website).

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Deloitte comment letter on IFRS for SMEs Q&As

03 Feb 2012

Deloitte's IFRS Global Office has submitted a letter of comment to the SME Implementation Group regarding Draft Q&A Section 11, Issue 1: Fallback to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and Draft Q&A Section 30, Issue 1: Recycling of cumulative exchange differences on disposal of a subsidiary.

In the comment letter, we are concerned about the appropriateness of these draft Q&As for the following reasons:

  • both draft Q&As seek to restrict entities from adopting certain accounting policies which may be permitted, or indeed required, following the Board’s comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs. We do not believe that requiring a change in accounting policy which may be reversed within the next 2-3 years is useful to either preparers or users of the financial statements of SMEs; and
  • we do not consider publication of a high volume of draft Q&As (11 since February 2011) to be in keeping with the Board’s plan for periodic updating of the IFRS for SMEs. As such, we welcome the commitment made in the November 2011 IFRS for SMEs Update to issue few, if any, further Q&As before the next comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs.

In addition, we are concerned about the due process applied to the Q&As and whether it is consistent with other IASB or IFRS Foundation activities.

Click for our Comment Letter on IFRS for SMEs Q&As. All of our past comment letters are here.

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IPSASB publishes consultation paper on the fourth phase of its conceptual framework project for public sector entities

01 Feb 2012

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has released for comment an Consultation Paper, 'Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities: Presentation in General Purpose Financial Reports'. The paper arises from the fourth and final phase of the IPSASB's conceptual framework project.

The paper explores concepts applicable to the presentation of information in the general purpose financial reports of public sector entities and considers presentation from the broader perspective of financial reporting rather than adopting a narrow focus just on the financial statements.

Although many of the concepts of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), the IPSASB's conceptual framework project is not an IFRS convergence project, and its purpose is not to interpret the application of the IASB Framework to the public sector.

Comments on the Consultation Paper close on 31 May 2012. Click for the IPSASB announcement (link to IFAC website).

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New issue of the IASB's Investor Perspectives

31 Jan 2012

In April 2010, the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation and the IASB launched a programme to enhance investors' participation in the development of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). One of the enhancements is a newsletter for investors entitled Investor Perspectives. A new edition is now available.

IASB Board member Patrick Finnegan discusses the IASB's agenda consultation:

All Investor Perspectives are archived on the IASB's website.

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Revised proposals published for a new reporting framework in United Kingdom

31 Jan 2012

The United Kingdom Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has published three Financial Reporting Exposure Drafts (FREDs) setting out revised proposals for the future of financial reporting in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

The three exposure drafts are:

  • FRED 46 Application of Financial Reporting Requirements (draft FRS 100)
  • FRED 47 Reduced Disclosure Framework (draft FRS 101)
  • FRED 48 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (draft FRS 102).

The reporting framework proposed by the FREDs would operate as follows:

  • entities required by law to apply EU-adopted IFRS must do so – previous proposals to require entities with 'public accountability' to apply EU-adopted IFRS in full have been discontinued
  • certain qualifying entities (mainly subsidiaries and ultimate parents) may apply the EU-adopted IFRS with reduced disclosures as set out in FRED 47 – these entities would apply the recognition and measurement requirements of EU-adopted IFRS in full but benefit from lower disclosure requirements
  • all other entities apply the draft standard set out in FRED 48 – these requirements would be based on the IFRS for SMEs but include modifications so that it fits better with the financial reporting requirements in the UK and Republic of Ireland, e.g. where an accounting treatment is permitted currently
  • retaining the financial reporting standard for smaller entities (FRSSE) – the ASB will consult further once the European Commission's proposals to change the financial reporting requirements for small and micro-sized entities are clarified.

Comment on the FREDs close on 30 April 2012. Click for:

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Summary of the January 2012 Trustees' meeting

30 Jan 2012

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the conclusions of their meeting in Singapore on 12 January 2012.

The Trustees discussed progress towards global adoption of IFRSs. They also received a report on the Due Process Oversight Committee (DPOC), reviewing due process and post-implementation review methodology. The Trustees' Nominating Committee and the Monitoring Board approved several nominations and reappointments to the Trustees. Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman of the IASB, gave the Trustees a detailed report on the work of the IASB since the last meeting in October 2011. The Trustees’ Executive Committee discussed the finalisation of the strategy review.

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