February

IFRS conference in Amsterdam announced

21 Feb 2013

The IFRS Foundation has announced that its upcoming conference will be held in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) on 27-28 June 2013. The conference will outline the future of financial reporting and will feature the latest IASB update, covering the major IFRSs, implementation issues, an update on the conceptual framework and the latest research projects.

The conference will feature presentations by IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst, IASB members (Stephen Cooper, Philippe Danjou, Martin Edelmann, Patrick Finnegan and Takatsugu Ochi), senior IASB technical staff and other IFRS experts.

Some of the topics to be covered at the conference include:

  • The future of financial reporting
  • IASB update
    • Major IFRSs
    • Implementation
    • Conceptual framework
    • Research projects
  • Keynote address by Klaas Knot (President, De Nederlandsche Bank)
  • Technical update on financial instruments

The conference will also feature:

Morning break-out sessions Afternoon break-out sessions
  1. Financial Instruments: macro hedge accounting
  2. Leases
  3. Rate regulated activities
  4. Conceptual Framework (Part 1): presentation and disclosure (including XBRL)
  1. Financial Instruments: Impairment
  2. Leases
  3. Implementation Update
  4. Insurance Contracts
  5. Conceptual Framework (Part 2): elements and measurement

In addition, special interest sessions will be available to attendees interested in:

  • Investor-focused IFRS update
  • Implementing forthcoming financial instruments requirements
  • Implementing forthcoming revenue recognition requirements
  • Implementing IFRS 10 and IFRS 12

More details, including registration information, are available on the IASB website.

English translation of online paper on ten misconceptions regarding IFRSs

21 Feb 2013

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has made available an English translation of Philippe Danjou's online paper 'An Update on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)'. The online paper was original available in French only.

As mentioned in our previous article, the paper answers the ten frequent criticisms concerning IFRSs. The views expressed in this paper are the personal views of Mr Danjou and not the official views of the IASB.

The English and French versions of the paper are available on the IASB website.

Further notes from the February IASB meeting

21 Feb 2013

The IASB's February meeting is being held in London on 18-22 February 2013, some of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte additional observer notes from a number of the Conceptual Framework sessions held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Click through for direct access to the notes:

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

In addition, education sessions where held on revenue recognition and leases.  No decisions were made at these sessions and our observer notes for those sessions will be incorporated into the meeting notes for the later decision-making sessions.

You can also access the preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte observers for the entire meeting.

IASB podcast on 18 February 2013 meeting on conceptual framework

20 Feb 2013

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has posted a podcast of the Conceptual Framework session held during its meeting on Monday, 18 February 2013.

The podcast summarises the discussion that took place during Monday's conceptual framework session. Also, IAS Plus and IFRS Monitor notes on this session are available on the IASB website. The podcast and notes are part of an emergency measure the IASB has taken due to a technical issue with their recording system. IAS Plus is pleased to have the opportunity to provide the IASB with our observer notes.

As with all IASB meetings, Deloitte observer notes on all the sessions are available on the IAS Plus meeting page.

ESMA comments on the potential widening of the scope of the IFRS for SMEs

20 Feb 2013

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published to its website a second comment letter to the IASB on its comprehensive review of IFRS for SMEs. In the first letter ESMA asked the IASB to continue to prohibit all financial institutions from using IFRS for SMEs. In the second letter ESMA is asking the IASB not to allow publicly traded entities listed on a regulated market to use the IFRS for SMEs.

After submitting the first comment letter in December 2012, ESMA has come to "understand that some interested parties argue that governments and regulatory authorities in each individual jurisdiction should be able to decide whether publicly traded entities should be able to use the IFRS for SMEs, a set of accounting standards developed for private companies whose equity and debt instruments are not traded in a public market."

ESMA believes there are significant drawbacks related to introducing a subset of listed companies on regulated markets that apply less stringent accounting principles than other companies listed on the same markets. According to ESMA this would lead to:

  • a lesser degree of investor protection in combination with potentially increased risks,
  • the believe that the size of a company is an indicator for the complexity of transactions it engages in,
  • a higher cost of capital as a result of less transparency,
  • a potential loss in market confidence.

Please click for access to ESMA's full comment letter on the ESMA website.

IFRS Advisory Council meeting agenda

20 Feb 2013

The agenda has been released for the upcoming meeting of the IFRS Advisory Council, which is being held in London on 25-26 February 2013. The meeting will include discussion of the impact of the newly created Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) on the IFRS Advisory Council.

The agenda paper (link to IASB website) for the presentation on the ASAF includes commentary that the "purpose of ASAF is technical advice [whereas the] Advisory Council plays strategic role" and that the "ASAF focuses on standard setting, rather than implementation and consistent application".  The agenda includes breakout discussions on the ASAF.

The full agenda is set out below:

 

Monday, 25 February 2013 (09:15-17:00)

  • Welcome and Chairman's preview
  • Overview of the last four months
  • IASB activities
    • Work plan update
    • Project update - seeking input from Council members on key issues
    • Implementation
    • Other activities
  • Update on Trustee activities
  • Monitoring Board update
  • Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF)
    • Implications for the Advisory Council
    • Breakout discussions and report back

Tuesday, 26 February 2013 (09:00-16:00)

  • Research plan update
  • XBRL plan update
  • Comments received on EFRAG's discussion paper on disclosure
  • Disclosure
    • Update on Disclosure Forum
    • Disclosure principles in the Conceptual Framework
  • Financial instruments - limited amendments to IFRS 9
  • IASB due process handbook update
  • Survey on IFRS around the world
  • Summaries of breakout discussions at the October 2012 meeting and follow up on issues discussed (including rate-regulated activities)
  • Sum up of discussions

 

Agenda papers from this meeting are available on the IASB's website.

German standard setter sees 'perception' problem with macro hedge accounting

20 Feb 2013

The Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (Deutsches Rechnungslegungs Standards Committee, DRSC) has publicly released its response to the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) consultation around the transition from IAS 39 to IFRS 9 as part of the implementation of the forthcoming IASB's hedge accounting section of IFRS 9. The DRSC expresses concern about perception problems with what constitutes 'macro hedging'.

On 18 January 2013, the EFRAG issued a draft comment letter on the IASB staff's review draft of the forthcoming general hedge accounting section of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments.

In the letter, EFRAG expressed concern that its field testing of the review draft revealed uncertainty as to whether the introduction of the general hedge accounting requirements would change the way entities deal with macro hedge relationships.  Accordingly, the draft EFRAG letter suggested wording changes to support the IASB's goal of maintaining the status quo of macro hedge accounting until the macro hedge accounting project is completed.  The draft letter was discussed at the IASB's January meeting.

The DRSC's response to the EFRAG letter makes the following observations:

As we see it, the issue highlighted by some in EFRAG’s field test... seems to be a perception issue: There seems to be a different understanding by the IASB and some entities as to what constitutes a macro hedge and what does not... The issue is not that the IASB, by shifting the paragraphs into IFRS 9, has changed the literature; rather, the issue is that some entities think what their accounting people are doing is apply macro hedging – which, technically speaking, is not the case. Therefore, we do not believe that the issue can be resolved in the way that EFRAG suggests.

Notwithstanding the above analysis, the DRSC does agree with EFRAG that entities should not be forced to change their hedge accounting practices twice within a short time frame, as the general and macro hedging phases of the IASB's overall financial instruments project are completed.

Click for access to the full letter (link to DRSC website).

Additional notes from the February 2013 IASB meeting

19 Feb 2013

The IASB's February meeting is being held in London on 18-22 February 2013, some of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from Monday's sessions on Unit of account for fair value measurement, IFRIC update, Annual improvements 2010-2012, Novation of derivatives, and Leases.

Click through for direct access to the notes:

Monday, 18 February 2013

You can also access the preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte observers for the entire meeting.

2013 IFRS 'Red Book' coming in March

19 Feb 2013

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has announced that the 2013 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 2013, including all pronouncements with an effective date after 1 January 2013, but not the pronouncements they will be replaced or superseded. Accordingly, the 2013 edition contains pronouncements as a result of amendments from Government Loans (Amendments to IFRS 1); Consolidated Financial Statements, Joint Arrangements and Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities: Transition Guidance (Amendments to IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12); Investment Entities (Amendments to IFRS 10, IFRS 12 and IAS 27); and Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2009–2011 Cycle (which contained separate amendments to IFRS 1, IAS 1, IAS 16, IAS 32 and IAS 34).

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

IFRS Foundation Trustees publish revised IFRS Foundation Constitution

19 Feb 2013

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have published a revised version of the IFRS Foundation Constitution. The document reflects changes to the Constitution regarding the separation of the role of Chairman of the IASB and Chief Executive Officer of the IFRS Foundation.

The changes are a results of the Monitoring Boards governance review 2010-2011, which stated that the Chair of the IASB no longer serves as CEO of the IFRS Foundation. Instead, this responsibility has been included in a new role of Executive Director. They have already implemented this change with the appointment of Yael Almog as Executive Director of the IFRS Foundation in 2012.

The changes were approved by the IFRS Foundation Trustees on 23 January 2013 and are effective immediately.

Please click for (links to IASB website):

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