December

Year in review — 2016

28 Dec 2016

2016 was another successful year for the IAS Plus family with almost 15 million page views. We've devoted significant resources to bring you comprehensive coverage of all things IFRS and broader financial reporting and other relevant topics and are pleased that our readers appreciate our efforts.

IASB publishes editorial note

27 Dec 2016

The IASB has published an editorial note explaining that the Preface to International Financial Reporting Standards has been updated.

The updates reflect the results of the 2015 Constitution review and affect the following areas:

  • reduction in the number of members of the IASB from 16 to 14;
  • changed voting requirements in line with the reduced size of the Board; and
  • revised interval between agenda consultations.

The editorial note can be viewed on the editorial corrections page of the IASB's website.

Season's greetings

24 Dec 2016

We wish all our readers a peaceful holiday and all the best for the New Year.

We look forward to seeing you again after the holidays and to continue to be your preferred accounting website in 2017.

ESMA publishes feedback statement on ESEF consultation

22 Dec 2016

European Transparency Directive requires that issuers listed on regulated markets in the EU must prepare their annual financial reports in a European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) from 1 January 2020. The requirements in the Directive aim at making submission easier for issuers and facilitating accessibility, analysis and comparability for investors and regulators. In September 2015, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched a consultation to determine the most suitable technology to meet the ESEF requirement.

ESMA has now published a feedback statement to the consultation that concludes that Inline XBRL is the most suitable technology for issuers to report their annual financial reports in a single electronic format because it enables both machine and human readability in one document.

Please click to access the press release and the feedback statement on the ESMA website.

FASB issues 13 technical corrections and improvements to its new revenue standard

22 Dec 2016

The US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU), “Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue From Contracts With Customers,” which make minor changes to the Board’s new revenue guidance which is converged with IFRS 15. This ASU is the result up two sets of technical corrections on revenue proposed by the FASB in May and in September this year.

The following topics are addressed:

  • Loan guarantee fees
  • Contract costs — impairment testing
  • Contract costs — interaction of impairment testing with guidance in other topics
  • Provisions for losses on construction-type and production-type contracts
  • Scope of Topic 606
  • Disclosure of remaining performance obligations
  • Disclosure of prior-period performance obligations
  • Contract modifications example
  • Contract asset versus receivable
  • Refund liability
  • Advertising costs
  • Fixed-odds wagering contracts in the casino industry
  • Cost capitalisation for advisors to private funds and public funds

For more information, see the press release and ASU on the FASB’s website.

IASB updates fact sheet on the IFRS for SMEs

22 Dec 2016

The IASB has updated the IFRS for SMEs summarising activities since the issuance of the IFRS for SMEs.

Included in the fact sheet are adoptions, translations, training, and a list of resources on the information available on the IASB website.

The updated IFRS for SMEs fact sheet is available on the IASB website.

EFRAG believes Conceptual Framework should contain guidance on asymmetry

21 Dec 2016

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has written to the IASB asking for the Conceptual Framework to include directions for the use of asymmetry.

As EFRAG notes, the IASB decided unanimously at its October 2016 meeting while discussing the Conceptual framework project that the Conceptual Framework should acknowledge that in financial reporting standards asymmetry may sometimes arise as a consequence of requiring the most useful information.

EFRAG supports the decision but believes that such an acknowledgement by itself is not sufficient and that the Conceptual Framework should also include guidance regarding the use of asymmetry when developing recognition and measurement principles. EFRAG quotes examples and also points out that in some cases potential guidance has already been developed by the IASB staff.

Please click to access the letter on the EFRAG website.

Summary of the CMAC November 2016 meeting

21 Dec 2016

The IASB has released a summary of the Capital Markets Advisory Committee (CMAC) meeting which was held in London on 3 November 2016.

The topics discussed at the meeting included:

  • Accounting options
  • Post-implementation review of IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement
  • Digital reporting
  • Primary financial statements

The next CMAC meeting will take place on 16 March 2017.

The full meeting summary is available on the IASB's website.

Summary of the October 2016 ITCG meeting

19 Dec 2016

The IASB has published notes to the IFRS Taxonomy Consultative Group (ITCG) meeting held on 25 October 2016.

The ITCG discussed:

  • an update on activities;
  • priniciple-based reporting and the technological world;
  • the progress made by the entity-specific disclosures task force;
  • IFRS Taxonomy content and other areas;
  • the UK Financial Reporting Lab's project on digital future; and
  • IFRS Technology and the ITCG.

For more information, see the meeting summary on the IASB's website.

IASB posts webcast on IFRS Taxonomy

19 Dec 2016

The IASB has made available a webcast titled 'Taxonomy doesn't have to be taxing', which features IASB Board member Stephen Cooper explaining the IFRS Taxonomy and its benefits.

The webcast also includes information on the Taxonomy and how to become more involved in Taxonomy development.

The webcast and slides are available on the IASB's website.

Correction list for hyphenation

These words serve as exceptions. Once entered, they are only hyphenated at the specified hyphenation points. Each word should be on a separate line.