In our comment letter, we support the proposals in the exposure draft; however we recommend that the Board clarify the effect of the proposals on the accounting in interim financial statements subsequent to a plan amendment, curtailment or settlement.

Please click to access the full comment letter.

Although the IFRS for SMEs is designed for profit-oriented companies, the guide shows how it can be best used for the not-for-profit sector. ACCA sees a need for guidance in this area and has produced the guide to fill this gap on an interim basis. ACCA stresses, however, that it would "welcome and support the development of an IFRS specific to this sector, in due course, which would address more thoroughly the needs of these entities, developed using a more robust due process".

Please click to access the guide and a corresponding press release on the ACCA website.

The questionnaire presents nine arrangements and asks respondents to provide their assessment of whether different aspects of the definitions of assets and liabilities proposed in the May 2015 ED are met. Respondents are asked to provide their assessment solely based on the proposed definitions and the additional guidance included in the ED.

The completed questionnaire, which is available through the press release on the EFRAG website, should be submitted before 15 December 2015. The responses inform EFRAG’s assessment of the proposed definitions and the results will be communicated to the IASB in the beginning of 2016.

This issue features discussions on:

• The importance of having input from the investor community regarding the future work of the IASB.
• The IASB’s standard-setting approach.
• Current research projects pipeline.

In addition, the IASB has prepared an investor survey to gather views and priorities from the community concerning the future work plan. The survey responses are due by 15 December 2015.

For more information, see the press release and Investor Perspectives article on the IASB’s Web site.

Mr. Hooger­vorst’s speech builds on his previous comments made in June 2015 at the IFRS Foun­da­tion con­fer­ence in Paris. He explained that the contrast between his­tor­i­cal cost and fair value is not as large as some would expect and noted several prin­ci­ples that an entity can consider when selecting either his­tor­i­cal cost or current value as a mea­sure­ment basis. In addition, he commented that users are having issues with certain parts of other com­pre­hen­sive income (OCI), which has led the IASB to draw some important con­clu­sions related to its conceptual framework exposure draft. He also mentioned that mea­sure­ment and OCI will be two of the main topics he will discuss at upcoming outreach events hosted by the IASB.

Mr. Prada opened his speech with the usual ref­er­ences to the in­creas­ing global use of IFRSs before remarking on the situation in China. He praised the in­tro­duc­tion of standards that are substantially converged with IFRSs and high­lighted China’s support of the IFRS Foun­da­tion and the IASB. In addition, he suggested a possible change to the use of IFRSs in China:

Is now the time to consider further steps towards the goal of full con­ver­gence? . . . My personal view is that China has much to gain in doing so, in terms of international con­fi­dence in China’s capital market as well as Chinese lead­er­ship in establishing standards for global finance. . . . Of course, this is a decision for China alone, but we at the IFRS Foun­da­tion will support you every step of this journey.

A video of the panel dis­cus­sion held during the event will be available soon.

Check out the summaries for the forthcoming discussions on leases, pollutant pricing mechanisms, issues raised at the September ITG meeting, the disclosure initiative, financial instruments with characteristics of equity, insurance contracts, insurance and IFRS 9, IFRS implementation issues, goodwill and impairment and definition of a business. We have added them to our meeting note page and will supplement them with our popular meeting notes after the meeting.

The paper starts by stating that the audience for corporate reporting is continually growing and diversifying and that corporate reporting needs to properly address the needs of an ever wider audience. Building on this premise, the authors look at the content of corporate reporting in two broad areas, financial reporting and reporting on non-financial information (NFI – defined throughout the paper as anything other than financial information). While financial reporting is a well-established concept, NFI reporting is still developing and currently seems to have resulted in a patchwork of different, often unconnected, reports.

Acknowledging that none of the reports currently available can address the needs of a wider stakeholder group as a single standalone report, FEE puts forward a new approach to corporate reporting: CORE & MORE.

• The CORE report would contain the key information that is important for obtaining a fair understanding of the key elements of the company’s affairs, the key financial results and additional information that is considered to be relevant and material for the company’s stakeholders.
• The MORE report(s) would include more detailed information, for example detailed disclosures for financial statements or additional information that would be of a wider range than that in the CORE report.

The paper argues that the approach - especially when combined with an efficient use of modern technology - would allow for more timely presentation of information, would give companies the possibility to update individual elements without affecting the other parts, and could be used by stakeholders to tailor the information presented to their own information needs.

Please click to access the press release and the paper on the FEE website.