September

IASB addresses concerns about the different effective dates of IFRS 9 and the new insurance contracts standard

12 Sep 2016

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published 'Applying IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' with IFRS 4 'Insurance Contracts''. The amendments are intended to address concerns about the different effective dates of IFRS 9 and the forthcoming new insurance contracts standard (expected as IFRS 17 within the next six months).

 

Background

As it has become obvious that the effective date of IFRS 17 can no longer be aligned with the effective date of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments there have been calls for the IASB to delay application of IFRS 9 for insurance activities and align the effective date of IFRS 9 for those activities with the effective date of the new insurance contracts standard. Proponents of a deferral argued that:

  • The different effective dates would lead to accounting mismatches and volatility in profit or loss that users of financial statements might find difficult to understand.
  • Making decisions about applying the new classification and measurement requirements in IFRS 9 before the new insurance contracts standard is finalised would be difficult as the decisions might differ from those companies would have made had all details of the new standard been known.
  • Having to cope with two major accounting changes in a relatively short time would bear the potential of significantly increased costs and efforts (for preparers and for users).

The IASB has acknowledged these concerns and is therefore amending IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts to address the concerns expressed about the different effective dates of IFRS 9 and IFRS 17.

 

Changes

The amendments in Applying IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' with IFRS 4 'Insurance Contracts' (Amendments to IFRS 4) provide two options for entities that issue insurance contracts within the scope of IFRS 4:

  • an option that permits entities to reclassify, from profit or loss to other comprehensive income, some of the income or expenses arising from designated financial assets; this is the so-called overlay approach;
  • an optional temporary exemption from applying IFRS 9 for entities whose predominant activity is issuing contracts within the scope of IFRS 4; this is the so-called deferral approach.

The application of both approaches is optional and an entity is permitted to stop applying them before the new insurance contracts standard is applied.

Overlay approach. The amendments that form the overlay approach permit an entity to exclude from profit or loss and recognise in other comprehensive income the difference between the amounts that would be recognised in profit or loss in accordance with IFRS 9 and the amounts recognised in profit or loss in accordance with IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement provided that the entity issues contracts accounted for under IFRS 4, applies IFRS 9 in conjunction with IFRS 4, and classifies financial assets as fair value through profit or loss in accordance with IFRS 9 when those assets were previously classified at amortised cost or as available-for-sale in accordance with IAS 39.

Deferral approach. Under the amendments that make up the deferral approach, an entity is permitted to apply IAS 39 rather than IFRS 9 for annual reporting periods beginning before 1 January 2021 if it has not previously applied any version of IFRS 9 and if its predominant activity is issuing contracts within the scope of IFRS 4. An entity determines whether its predominant activity is issuing contracts within the scope of IFRS 4 by comparing the carrying amount of its liabilities arising from contracts within the scope of IFRS 4 with the total carrying amount of its liabilities. An insurer’s activities are predominantly connected with insurance if (a) the carrying amount of its liabilities arising from contracts within the scope of IFRS 4 is significant compared to the total carrying amount of all its liabilities and (b) the percentage of the total carrying amount of its liabilities connected with insurance relative to the total carrying amount of all its liabilities is either greater than 90 per cent or less than or equal to 90 per cent but greater than 80 per cent, and the insurer does not engage in a significant activity unconnected with insurance. In connection with the deferral approach there is also a temporary exemption from specific requirements in IAS 28 regarding uniform accounting policies when using the equity method.

 

Dissenting opinion

One Board member voted against the publication of the amendments because this Board member does not agree with the temporary exemption from applying IFRS 9. This Board member argues that the deferral approach will reduce comparability, including between entities that issue insurance contracts. The Board member acknowledges the concerns voiced but is of the opinion that the overlay approach offers enough relief and makes a temporary exemption from applying IFRS 9 unnecessary.

 

Effective date and disclosures

An entity applies the overlay approach retrospectively to qualifying financial assets when it first applies IFRS 9. Application of the overlay approach requires disclosure of sufficient information to enable users of financial statements to understand how the amount reclassified in the reporting period is calculated and the effect of that reclassification on the financial statements.

An entity applies the deferral approach for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. Predominance is assessed at the reporting entity level at the annual reporting date that immediately precedes 1 April 2016. Application of the deferral approach needs to be disclosed together with information that enables users of financial statements to understand how the insurer qualified for the temporary exemption and to compare insurers applying the temporary exemption with entities applying IFRS 9. The deferral can only be made use of for the three years following 1 January 2018. Predominance is only reassessed if there is a change in the entity’s activities.

 

Additional information

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In connection with the amendments the IASB has also published a proposed Update 2 to the IFRS Taxonomy 2016 containing taxonomy elements for the amendments. More information on the proposed taxonomy update is available on the IASB website. Comments are requested by 15 November 2016.

 

September 2016 IASB meeting agenda posted

11 Sep 2016

The IASB has posted the agenda for its next meeting, which will be held at its offices in London on 20 and 22 September 2016.

4.5 hours o the short meeting will be devoted to the Conceptual Framework. Also on the agenda are amendments to IAS 8, IFRS implementation issues, financial instruments with characteristics of equity, and the Agenda consultation.

The full agenda for the meeting can be found here. We will post any updates to the agenda, our comprehensive pre-meeting summaries as well as observer notes from the meeting on this page as they become available.

IASB Chairman speaks on upcoming insurance standard

08 Sep 2016

On 8 September 2016, IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst gave a speech wh ere he reported on the progress of the use of IFRS around the world, the upcoming insurance contracts standard, and ways the IASB will enhance their communication efforts.

  • Use of IFRS around the world — Mr Hoogervorst gave a brief update on the use of IFRS in each region. Specifically, he noted that an area which had seen a lot of progress is in Asia and the Middle East.
  • Insurance contracts — Mr Hoogervorst stated that the insurance contracts standard is currently being drafted by its staff and are producing an effect analysis. He provided examples which illustrated the lack of comparability between insurance companies around the world and stressed the urgent need for the new standard to be out as soon as it can.
  • Enhance communication — Mr Hoogervorst commented on the need to evaluate how information is presented in financial statements in order improve the organization of data and to increase comparability between them.

Please click to access the full text of Mr Hooger­vorst's speech on the IASB website.

Agenda for the September 2016 ASAF meeting

08 Sep 2016

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has released an agenda for the meeting of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF), which is to be held at the IASB's offices in London on 29 September 2016.

The agenda for the meeting is sum­marised below:


Thursday, 29 September 2016 (9:15-17:30)
  • Research report Information Needs of Users of New Zealand Capital Markets Entity Reports
  • Rate-regulated Activities
  • Conceptual Framework:
    • Measurement
    • Financial Performance and Measurement
    • Other Comprehensive Income
  • Definition of a Business
  • Project updates and agenda planning
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Working with National standard-setters (including support for the Disclosure Initiative)

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

ASBJ submits paper for the ASAF discussion of the Conceptual Framework

07 Sep 2016

During the upcoming meeting of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) at the IASB's offices in London on 29 September 2016, members will discuss the question of measurement in the Conceptual Framework. The Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) has submitted a paper on 'The Linkage between Financial Performance and Measurement' for the discussion.

In the paper, the ASBJ argues two points:

  • As long as the statement of profit or loss is the primary source of information about an entity’s financial performance, the Conceptual Framework should, at a minimum, describe the fundamental characteristics that information about profit or loss should possess.
  • In order to calculate profit or loss that is useful, the measurement basis should be selected appropriately from the perspective of the statement of financial position and from the perspective or the statement(s) of financial performance, respectively. If the measurement basis differ, the difference in the changes in the measurements should be included in OCI.

Please click for access to the full paper on the ASBJ website.

IFRS Foundation adds 4 new jurisdiction profiles on the use of IFRS around the world

07 Sep 2016

The IFRS Foundation has added 4 new jurisdiction profiles on the use of IFRS, bringing the total number of profiles completed to 147 jurisdictions.

The following four new ju­ris­dic­tion profiles were added:

  • Liberia — Adopted IFRS and the IFRS for SMEs; effective 31 December 2018, early application encouraged.
  • Malawi — Adopted IFRS for companies with public accountability and the IFRS for SMEs for companies with nonpublic accountability.
  • Namibia — Requires IFRS for all public interest entities and permits the use of the IFRS for SMEs for entities without public accountability.
  • Timor-Leste — Permits the use of IFRS and is developing its own standards based off of IFRS.

The profiles and analyses are available through the press release on the IASB's website.

IASB posts webcast on the definition of a business proposals

07 Sep 2016

The IASB has posted a webcast discussing its proposed amendments to the definition of a business in IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’.

The webcast, which was hosted by IASB Board Member Mary Tokar and Technical Director Michael Stewart, provided an overview of the proposals, including the two proposed assessment models.

For more information, view the webcast on the IASB’s website.

Recent integrated and sustainability reporting developments

06 Sep 2016

A summary of recent developments at the IIRC, United Nations SSE, and GRI.

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has appointed Richard Howitt, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), as its next Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr Howitt will succeed outgoing CEO Paul Druckman on 1 November 2016 and will step down as an MEP to coincide with his appointment. An MEP for over 20 years, Richard Howitt is an architect of the EU’s non-financial information directive. Please click for more information on Mr Howitt's appointment on the IIRC website.

The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative has released its 2016 Report on Progress. With 59 exchanges partnering with the SSE initiative, over 70% of listed equity markets have made a public commitment to advancing sustainability in their market. Other key figures include that 12 stock exchanges require ESG reporting as a listing rule, and 11 list green bonds. Please click for the progress report on the UNEP FI website.

GRI and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) announced the start of the second phase of the Corporate Sustainability and Reporting for Competitive Business (CSRCB) programme, which helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world use sustainability reporting to gain better access to global value chains. Phase two of the CSRCB programme aims at increasing the reporting capacity, creating a conducive reporting environment, and fostering demand for sustainability data. Please click for the press release on the GRI website.

CMAC call for members

05 Sep 2016

The IASB's Capital Markets Advisory Committee (CMAC) is currently seeking applications for membership after the terms of a number of members expire at the end of 2016.

The CMAC is a group of professional financial analysts who meet three times a year with members of the IASB to provide the views of professional investors on financial reporting issues.

Please click for more information about the CMAC and the call for members on the IASB's website.

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