ASBJ publishes 'Japan’s Modified International Standards'
30 Jun 2015
The Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) has issued "Japan’s Modified International Standards (JMIS): Accounting Standards Comprising IFRSs and the ASBJ Modifications". JMIS are standards and interpretations issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) with certain 'deletions or modifications' where considered necessary.
The current list of JMIS contains standards issued by the IASB as at 31 December 2012. During the endorsement process it was determined that several standards should be modified with respect to guidance related to the accounting of goodwill and other comprehensive income. To this end, two ASBJ Modification Accounting Standards were also published today:
- ASBJ Modification Accounting Standard No. 1 Accounting for Goodwill contains modifications to IFRS 3 Business Combinations and IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures.
- ASBJ Modification Accounting Standard No. 2 Accounting for Other Comprehensive Income contains modifications to IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures, IFRS 9 Financial Instruments (2010), IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements, and IAS 19 Employee Benefits.
As regards the relationship with IFRSs, the Foreword to the JMIS states:
The IFRS endorsement process is an effort to promote the application of IFRS in Japan towards the ultimate goal of achieving a single set of high-quality global standards. Limited ‘deletions or modifications’ to the Standards issued by the IASB that are made today may be resolved depending on future discussions in Japan and at the IASB. Accordingly, they should be viewed as transitional treatments and the ASBJ will continue to express views on these requirements.
An entity may apply JMIS to consolidated financial statements for annual periods ending on or after 31 March 2016. The endorsement process for standards issued by the IASB as at 31 December 2013 has already begun and will be completed shortly. Afterwards, the endorsement process for standards issued by the IASB after 31 December 2013 will be taken up.
Please click to access the press release on the ASBJ website. It offers access to the Foreword, the approvd Application of the JMIS, and the two modification standards.
JMIS constitute the fourth set of accounting standards for consolidated financial statements in Japan in addition to designated IFRSs, Japanese GAAP, and US GAAP. The Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) is currently consulting on changing the related cabinet ordinances to make the use of JMIS legally possible. Comments on the consultation close on 30 July 2015. Please click for more information on the FSA website (Japanese only).
