January

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IPSASB publishes five IPSAS based on the IASB's 'package of five'

31 Jan 2015

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has published a series of five International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) on accounting for interests in other entities. The five pronouncements are based on the 'package of five' standards issued by the IASB in May 2011 dealing with consolidation, joint arrangements, the equity method, separate financial statements and disclosure. However, the IPSASB made a number of amendments to the IASB's pronouncements to tailor them for the public sector.

The new standards IPSAS 34 Separate Financial Statements, IPSAS 35 Consolidated Financial Statements, IPSAS 36 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures, IPSAS 37 Joint Arrangements, and IPSAS 38 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities follow the IPSASB practice of, where relevant, developing its IPSAS based on IFRS, and follows a Memorandum of Understanding between the IASB and IFAC signed in November 2011, which among other objectives, seeks "to highlight financial reporting issues where alignment between the requirements of the IASB and the requirements of the IPSASB is necessary".

The new IPSAS are based on IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements, IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities, IAS 27 Separate Financial Statements and IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures, including the amendments made in 2012 in relation to transitional guidance and investment entities. The standards align with the requirements of these equivalent IASB pronouncements, except where departure is considered justified (e.g. modification of terminology, consideration of the interaction with the Government Finance Statistics and the System of National Accounts, reflection of differences between existing IPSAS and IFRS).

The new standards replace IPSAS 6 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements, IPSAS 7 Investments in Associates and IPSAS 8 Interests in Joint Ventures. As these IPSASs were themselves largely based on previous IASB requirements, the changes from these standards are consistent with those faced by for-profit entities applying the 'package of five' IASB standards, e.g. a unified control model based on control and power, the elimination of proportionate consolidation, and numerous additional disclosures.

The standards are effective for annual financial statements covering periods beginning on or after 1 January 2017. Earlier application is encouraged, however, if an entity decides to apply the requirements early it shall disclose that fact and apply the whole series of standards (IPSAS 34 through IPSAS 38) at the same time.

All of the new standards can be accessed through the press release on the IPSASB website.

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January 2015 IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting notes — Part 2

30 Jan 2015

The IFRS Interpretations Committee met in London on 27 January 2015. We've posted the Deloitte observer notes for the sessions on IAS 21, IAS 32, IAS 28, and IFRIC 21.

The topics discussed were as follows (click through to access detailed Deloitte observer notes for each topic):

TUESDAY, 27 JANUARY 2015

Items for continuing consideration

Finalisation of tentative agenda decisions

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

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Agenda for the February 2015 IFRS Foundation Trustees meeting

30 Jan 2015

The agenda for the upcoming meeting of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, some of which will be held jointly with the Monitoring Board and the Due Process Oversight Committee, is now available. The meeting will be held in Zurich, Switzerland on 2 and 3 February 2015.

The agenda for the meeting is sum­marised below:

Monday, 2 February 2015

Joint IFRS Foun­da­tion Trustees and Monitoring Board meeting (10:15-11:20 BST)

  • Welcome and introductions
  • Report of the Chair of the Trustees: Strategic overview
  • Report of the Chair of the IASB: Technical update
  • IFRS use around the world

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

IFRS Foundation Trustees meeting (15:15-15:45 BST)

  • Report of the IFRS Foundation Chair
  • Report of the Due Process Oversight Committee
    • Introduction
    • Update on technical activities
    • Revised IFRS for SMEs: Due process ‘lifecycle’ review
    • Reporting on projects
    • Consultative groups and DPOC engagement update
    • Correspondence update
    • Summary

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

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IPSASB releases standard for the first-time adoption of IPSAS

30 Jan 2015

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has released IPSAS 33 'First-time Adoption of Accrual Basis IPSASs'.

The new International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) addresses the transition from either a cash basis, or an accrual basis under another reporting framework, or a modified version of either the cash or accrual basis of accounting. Consequently, the IPSASB states that the new IPSAS is not aimed at IFRS convergence. Nevertheless, the IPSASB did consider the transitional exemptions included in IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in developing the standard.

Main feature of IPSAS 33 is that allows first-time adopters three years to recognise specified assets and liabilities in order to give preparers sufficient time to develop reliable models for recognising and measuring assets and liabilities during the transition period. These assets and liablilties include inventories, investment property, property, plant and equipment, defined benefit plans and other long-term employee benefits, biological assets and agricultural produce, intangible assets, service concession assets and the related liabilities, and financial instruments.

The IPSASB is aware that where a first-time adopter takes advantage of the exemptions above, fair presentation and compliance with accrual basis IPSASs will be affected and the first-time adopter will not be able to make an unreserved statement of compliance with accrual basis IPSASs until the exemptions have expired or the relevant items are recognised and measured in accordance with the applicable IPSASs. Still, the IPSASB believed that the transition period meets the needs of both preparers and users of financial statements and might be a further incentive for entities to make the decision to apply IPSASs. Nevertheless, the IPSASB encourages first-time adopters to comply in full with all the requirements of the applicable IPSASs as soon as possible.

IPSAS 33 shall be applied if a first-time adopters first IPSAS financial statements are for a period beginning on or after 1 January 2017. Earlier application is permitted. Please access the new standard and a corresponding press release on the IPSASB website.

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January 2015 IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting notes — Part 1

29 Jan 2015

The IFRS Interpretations Committee met in London on 27 January 2015. We've posted the Deloitte observer notes for the sessions on IAS 12, IAS 24, IAS 40, IAS 39, IFRS 12, IFRS 13, works in progress, and a review of 2014 activities.

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Japanese Board member writes about 'Expectation of Japan'

29 Jan 2015

IASB member Takatsugu Ochi has published an article in KEIRIJOUHOU, an accounting journal issued by Chuokeizaisha. He writes about ASAF, Japanese contributions to the Conceptual Framework and the post-implementation review of IFRS 3 and adoption of IFRS in Japan.

The article opens with a reflection on the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF), which the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) is a member of. Mr Ochi explains that since the IASB has switched to an 'all-participating-type' of standard-setting, the ASBJ has contributed well-received papers on Is OCI Unnecessary? and Should Goodwill still not be Amortised? - Accounting and Disclosure for Goodwill.

Mr Ochi also points out that Japan is sending several staff to support the organisation, including actively supporting the IASB's Asia-Oceania office. This, to Mr Ochi, is another point supporting the statement that the IASB's standard-setting has become 'all-participating' and that Japan is using the opportunity.

At the same time, Mr Ochi claims that to regard Japan as an outsider should become an attitude of the past vis-à-vis Japan's ongoing expansion of the use of IFRSs. He states:

Japan, who is promoting the expansion of the voluntary application of IFRS and who is one of the countries that actually uses IFRS, has begun participating in standard-setting with its feet on ground, taking root from practical experiences. 

Please click for access to Mr Ochi's article on the IASB website.

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IASB issues work plan update

27 Jan 2015

After its January meeting, the IASB has updated its work plan. The revised plan moves — from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2015 — (1) the targeted date for an exposure draft (ED) on elimination of gains and losses arising from transactions between an entity and its associate or joint venture and (2) the feedback statement on the post-implementation review for IFRS 3. In addition, the work plan adds a new project on remeasurement related to a plan amendment, curtailment, or settlement/availability of a refund of a surplus from a defined benefit plan (an ED is targeted for the second quarter of 2015).

Current status

The revised time table for the major projects is now as follows:

Project Current status Next project step Expected timing

Conceptual Framework — Com­pre­hen­sive IASB project

Re­de­lib­er­a­tions

ED

Q1 2015

Financial in­stru­ments — Macro hedge accounting

Dis­cus­sion paper

Comment letter analysis

Q1 2015

Insurance contracts

Re-ex­po­sure

Re­de­lib­er­a­tions

Q1 2015

Leases

Re-ex­po­sure

Target IFRS

H2 2015

Dis­clo­sure ini­tia­tive — Prin­ci­ples of dis­clo­sure

Board dis­cus­sion

Target Dis­cus­sion Paper

Q2 2015

Dis­clo­sure ini­tia­tive — Rec­on­cil­i­a­tion of li­a­bil­i­ties from financing ac­tiv­i­ties

ED

Public con­sul­ta­tion

Q1 2015

IFRS for SMEs — Com­pre­hen­sive review

Re­de­lib­er­a­tions

Target IFRS

Q1 or Q2 2015

Rate-reg­u­lated ac­tiv­i­ties

Dis­cus­sion paper

Comment letter analysis

Q1 2015

In addition, board discussions related to the research project on business combinations under common control now extend into the second quarter of 2015.

The revised IASB work plan (dated 27 January 2015) is available on the IASB's website. We have updated our project pages to reflect the updated work plan and other known developments.

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January 2015 IASB meeting notes — Part 2 (concluded)

27 Jan 2015

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) met at its offices in London on 20-22 January 2015, some of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted the remaining Deloitte observer notes from the sessions on the disclosure initiative, IFRS implementation issues, and emission trading schemes.

Click through for direct access to the notes:

Thursday, 22 January 2015

You can also access the preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte observers for the entire meeting.
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IPSASB video series on adopting and implementing IPSASs

27 Jan 2015

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has issued three videos as part of a series examining the challenges and benefits of governments adopting International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) and accrual accounting.

In the video interviews, which are between 15 and 25 minutes long, IPSASB members from different nations describe the process and share key details, timelines, and lessons learned in their jurisdictions in connection with the adoption of IPSAS. The first three videos are (all links to IPSASB website):

In addition, the IPSASB has redesigned its Adoption and Implementation website.

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January 2015 IASB meeting notes — Part 1

23 Jan 2015

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) met at its offices in London on 20-22 January 2015, some of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted the Deloitte observer notes from the sessions on leases, conceptual framework, IFRS for SMEs, and insurance contracts. Additional notes will be posted in due course.

Click through for direct access to the notes:

Tuesday, 20 January 2015

Wednesday, 21 January 2015

Thursday, 22 January 2015

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

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