November

Joint IASB and ICAS event on the future of financial reporting

06 Nov 2015

The IASB and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) will be hosting an outreach event on the future of financial reporting on 1 December 2015.

Speakers from the IASB will present on the agenda consultation and on the conceptual framework project; speakers from ICAS will then give their views on these projects and will present the results of new research, jointly funded by ICAS and EFRAG, on professional investors’ views of the decision-usefulness of financial reporting.

Topics to be discussed include:

  • Has the IASB correctly identified the right issues for the future?
  • Is there anything missing from the agenda?
  • Have the IASB struck the right balance between fundamental improvements to IFRS versus fine tuning the standards to keep them fit for purpose?
  • Can financial reporting be considered in isolation from wider corporate reporting initiatives?
  • How will the revised Conceptual Framework drive changes in future?
  • How can research help to shape the future of financial reporting?

Please click for more information and registration on the ICAS website.

Recent sustainability reporting developments

06 Nov 2015

A summary of recent developments at the WBCSD, the GRI/GSSB and the WFE.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has released the 2015 edition of Reporting matters. The 2015 research shows that 62% of the leading companies have improved their disclosures on non-financial information since the first WBCSD baseline report in 2013, with materiality disclosures in particular showing the greatest signs of improvement. In addition, an increasing number of companies are reporting on impacts beyond their direct operations. The report also shows that GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines remain the most widely used. Please click to access a press release and the full report on the WBCSD website.

The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), founded to strengthen GRI’s role and credibility as a public standard-setter, has held its inaugural public meeting on 4 November 2015 and has approved plans to transition the GRI G4 Guidelines to GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards). The plans focus on a new modular structure and on transitioning the existing G4 content into this new format. In future, the GSSB will no longer issue generations of Guidelines as it has done historically. Instead, GRI Standards will be updated on an ongoing basis following public input into the GSSB work programme. The GSSB aims to issue the initial set of GRI Standards during the third quarter of 2016. Please click for the press release detailing the planned development phases on the GRI website.

The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has issued guidelines for its member exchanges on how to implement its sustainability policies. The guidelines identify key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics that exchanges can include in their disclosure guidance for listed companies. For more information, see the press release, guidelines, and ESG metrics on the WFE website.

Speeches and presentations at the 32nd ISAR session

05 Nov 2015

The thirty-second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) is currently being held in Geneva. The keynote address was given by FASB Chairman Russell Golden; among the presentations was also one by IASB Vice-Chairman Ian Mackintosh.

In his speech, Mr Golden discussed the important role high-quality financial reporting has within capital markets around the world and noted that high-quality accounting standards should “promote truth-telling in financial reporting”.

Mr Mackintosh presented on major trends and challenges towards high-quality corporate reporting and focused on the IASB's mission and the future agenda of the IASB.

Michael Stewart, Director of Implementation Activities at the IASB, explained how principle-based standards support consistent application across diverse facts and circumstances and how the IASB Education Initiative promotes IFRS judgement capacity-building by developing cohesive IFRS understanding and capacity to make, audit, regulate, and analyse IFRS judgements.

Please click for direct access to these speeches on the UNCTAD website:

All presentations given at the meeting (including presentations from representatives of the PIOB, IFAC, IAASB, Basel Committee, FSB, World Bank, IIRC, CDSB) can be accessed through this website.

Agenda posted for the December ITG meeting

04 Nov 2015

The IASB has released the agenda for the upcoming meeting of Transition Resource Group for Impairment of Financial Instruments (ITG), which is being held at the IASB's office in London on 11 December 2015.

The ITG was created to keep the IASB informed on issues occurring during implementation of the new impairment requirements in IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, to assist in determining what action may be needed to resolve diversity in practice and to provide a public forum for stakeholders to learn about the new impairment requirements from others involved with implementation.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

Friday, 11 December 2015

  • In­tro­duc­tory remarks
  • Meaning of current effective interest rate
  • Collateral and other credit enhancements and the measurement of expected credit losses
  • Inclusion of cash flows expected from the sale of a defaulted loan in the measurement of expected credit losses
  • Scope of paragraph 5.5.20 of IFRS 9
  • Measurement of expected credit losses for charge cards
  • Period over which to measure expected credit losses for revolving credit facilities
  • Incorporation of forward looking scenarios
  • Assessing for significant increases in credit risk for financial assets with a maturity of less than 12 months
  • Measurement of the loss allowance for credit impaired financial assets
  • Presentation of the loss allowance for financial assets measured at amortised cost

Agenda papers are available on the ITG December meeting page on the IASB's website.

IFRS Foundation invites comments on amended IFRS Taxonomy due process

04 Nov 2015

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have published for public comment proposed amendments to the due process for the development and maintenance of the IFRS Taxonomy, which would give the IASB greater involvement and responsibility.

The main proposed amendments would require:

  • IASB approval of IFRS content reflecting new or amended standards;
  • review by three to five members of the IASB of content reflecting common practice;
  • formalisation of the enhancements that were implemented in January 2014 (creation of the IFRS Taxonomy Consultative Group and establishment of a process that seeks public consultation on IFRS Taxonomy updates that are released during the year); and
  • inclusion of enhancements that reflect current practices and processes, but are not documented in the Due Process Handbook for XBRL Activities.

Please click to access the press release and the invitation to comment on the proposed amendments on the IASB website. Comments are requested by 3 February 2016.

Agenda for the November 2015 IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting

04 Nov 2015

The IFRS Interpretations Committee will meet at the IASB's offices in London on 10–11 November 2015. Again, we provide you with summaries of the agenda papers made available by the staff and point out the main issues to be discussed so that you can plan for upcoming meeting and follow the decision making more closely.

The Interpretations Committee will continue its discussions on four issues. Of these, the most substantial discussions are likely to be those that relate to variable payments for asset purchases (Tuesday 10:05 to 11:05) and the relationship between IFRS 9 and IAS 28 in terms of impairment testing of financial instruments that are “in substance” part of an entity’s net investment in an associate or joint venture (Tuesday 11:35 – 12:15). The Interpretations Committee is also expected to finalise one agenda decision and will consider five new issues. For all of the new issues, the recommendation is not to take the item onto the agenda.

The full agenda for the meeting and the pre-meeting summaries of the staff papers can be found here. We will update this page for any changes to the agenda, and our Deloitte observer notes from the meeting as they become available.

IFAC paper on the contribution of professional accountants to integrated thinking

04 Nov 2015

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released 'Creating Value with Integrated Thinking: The Role of Professional Accountants'. The paper sets out a vision for integrated thinking and explores what professional accountants working in the public and private sectors can do in practical terms to facilitate it in their organisation, regardless of whether their organisation is planning to publish an integrated report.

The paper builds on the fundamental concepts and principles as captured by the IIRC's International Integrated Reporting Framework issued in December 2013. It explains how a connected approach supports the other four key areas of integrated thinking: an external value focus, integrated planning, effective governance and oversight, and integrated communications. The authors argue that with a broader view of an organisation, the CFO and the finance function can begin to ensure that all aspects involving people, processes, and systems are better connected while a disconnected approach can lead to important drivers of value being omitted from both information provided to management and external reports.

Please click to access the thought paper on the IFAC website.

Revenue transition resource group releases meeting agenda

03 Nov 2015

The FASB and IASB have released the agenda for the next meeting of their joint revenue transition resource group (TRG), which will be held on 9 November 2015.

The purpose of the TRG is to seek feed­back on po­ten­tial issues related to im­ple­men­ta­tion of the boards’ new revenue stan­dard. By an­a­lyz­ing and dis­cussing po­ten­tial im­ple­men­ta­tion issues, the TRG will help the boards de­ter­mine whether they need to take ad­di­tional action, such as pro­vid­ing clar­i­fi­ca­tion or issuing other guid­ance.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

Monday, 9 November 2015

  • In­tro­duc­tory remarks and project updates.
  • Customer options for additional goods and services.
  • Pre-production activities.
  • Licenses — Specific application issues about restrictions and renewals.
  • Whether fixed odds wagering contracts are included or excluded from the scope of Topic 606.
  • Administration session.

Agenda papers for this meeting are avail­able on the IASB's Web site.

AICPA begins developing revenue recognition implementation guidance

03 Nov 2015

The Financial Reporting Executive Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has released for public comment nine working drafts on accounting issues associated with the implementation of the new revenue standard.

Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09 Revenue From Contracts With Customers was published jointly with IFRS 15 Revenue From Contracts With Customers in May 2014 and is more principles-based than the current US GAAP revenue guidance, which is transaction- and industry-specific. The AICPA is now beginning to develop (non-authoritative) implementation guidance that discusses considerations and illustrative examples of industry-specific transactions.

For the time being, the AICPA has released for public comment nine working drafts that apply to entities in the aerospace and defense and investment asset management industries, however, they have been announced as "the first of many working drafts". When finalised, the considerations and illustrative examples will be included in a new revenue recognition guide the AICPA is developing.

Please click for more information and access to the drafts on the AICPA's Journal of Accountancy website.

Canadian initiative striving for uniform IFRS adoption dates

03 Nov 2015

As not having uniform adoption dates for IFRSs undermines the goal of consistent application of the standards in different jurisdictions, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) of Canada has launched an initiative striving for uniform IFRS adoption dates.

In October 2015, AcSB chair Linda Mezon and several board members of the AcSB met with Roger Marshall, chair of the British standard-setter, and Andreas Barckow, president of the German standard-setter, who are also EFRAG interim president and EFRAG board member, respectively. They discussed international processes for endorsement, which may, depending on their length, lead to different effective dates. A summary of the meeting has been made available on the CPA Canada website.

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