August

FASB solicits feedback on agenda consultation

04 Aug 2016

The FASB has issued an invitation to comment, “Agenda Consultation” to solicit stakeholder feedback on which topics should be added to the FASB’s agenda.

Topics discussed in the invitation to comment include:

  • Intangible assets, including research and development.
  • Pensions and other postretirement benefit plans.
  • Distinguishing liabilities from equity.
  • Reporting performance and cash flows.

Comments are due by 17 October 2016. Public roundtable meetings on the invitation to comment are expected to be held in the fourth quarter of 2016. For more information, see the press release and invitation to comment on the FASB’s website.

The IASB also has similar projects on its agenda for post-employment benefits (including pensions), liabilities and equity, and primary financial statements (performance reporting). For more information, see the IASB’s Agenda Consultation 2015.

IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board publishes work plan

02 Aug 2016

The IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, responsible for the oversight of the IFRS Foundation, has published its work plan. The Board expects that it will carry out the activities in the “near-term”.

The Monitoring Board organised its plan into three sections, work related to:

  • Trustees’ oversight of the IASB — Provide comments on the IASB’s due process arrangement and refer agenda items to the Trustees.
  • Trustees — Review (1) the Trustees’ Review of Structure and Effectiveness and (2) the June 2016 proposal to amend the IFRS Foundation Constitution. The Monitoring Board also plans to review the Trustees’ financial arrangements and participate in the Trustee nomination process.
  • Monitoring Board — Conduct a periodic review of existing Monitoring Board members and consider rotating members.

The work plan is available on the IASB's website.

Group of CEOs sees realistic public reporting as integral part of good corporate governance

02 Aug 2016

A group of CEOs has issued a set of commonsense corporate governance principles for public companies, boards of directors, and shareholders. The principles are intended to provide a basic framework for sound, long-term-oriented governance. Among the topics discussed is also public reporting with a focus on earnings guidance and non-GAAP measures.

The principles state that a company should take a long-term strategic view and explain clearly to shareholders how material decisions and actions are consistent with that view. Required quarterly reporting should reflect this view and provide an outlook for trends and metrics that reflect progress on long-term goals. The principles note that making short-term decisions to beat guidance is "likely to be value destructive in the long run".

According to the priciples, companies should not feel obligated to provide earnings guidance, but if they decide to so so, they should first determine whether it “does more harm than good”. Also, the guidance “should be realistic and avoid inflated projections”.

Finally, the priciples stress that companies are required to report their results in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). While the group of CEOs believes that "it is acceptable in certain instances to use non-GAAP measures to explain and clarify results for shareholders" they also stress that "such measures should be sensible and should not be used to obscure GAAP results". They also stress that all compensation expenses, including equity compensation, should be reflected in any non-GAAP measures of earnings as they are plainly a cost of doing business.

For more information, see the press release and principles on the website especially set up for this purpose.

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