July

ESAs speak out against "top up" regarding IFRS 4 amendments

25 Jul 2017

The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have jointly written to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to speak out against enlarging the amendments to IFRS 4 to include a "top up" that would allow a financial conglomerate to elect that none of its entities operating in the insurance sector apply IFRS 9 in the consolidated financial statements for financial years the commencement of which precedes 1 January 2021 where certain conditions are met.

The European Commission's Accounting Regulatory Committee (ARC) voted positively on including the "top up" in the endorsement of Applying IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' with IFRS 4 'Insurance Contracts' (Amendments to IFRS 4) on 29 June and subsequently the European Commission sent the text to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

Before the ARC vote, the ESAs had warned the ARC against the "top up" arguing that "it would lead to opportunities for accounting arbitrage, an un-level playing field and a breach of fundamental principles in accounting, and would ultimately result in a lower degree of investor protection". Given the ARC voted positively on the enlarged text, the ESAs have now turned to the Parliament and the Council to once more stress their position.

Please click for the following additional information:

Recent sustainability and integrated reporting developments

25 Jul 2017

A summary of recent developments at GRI and IIRC/ACCA.

The Governance & Accountability Institute, data partner for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), in cooperation with the Baruch College has released research results showing that using the GRI sustainability reporting framework improves the quality of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) disclosures. Please click for a short research report on the G & A Institute's website.

On 21 June 2017, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) together with AVIVA and Barclays hosted a roundtable Building a more sustainable economy in Europe: Non-financial information and sustainable finance – what next?. A report of the event (IIRC website) and a short video with highlights (YouTube) are now available.

IASB posts webcast on IFRS 16 lessee disclosures

24 Jul 2017

As part of the IASB webcast series on IFRS 16 implementation, the IASB staff has made available a webcast related to IFRS 16 disclosure requirements for lessees.

This webcast is hosted by IASB Board member Stephen Cooper and includes discussions on:

  • “The Board’s rationale for disclosure requirements in IFRS 16.”
  • “The information needs of users of financial statements.”
  • “Key considerations for a lessee in determining what information is most relevant to users of financial statements.”

The webcast is available on the IFRS 16 im­ple­men­ta­tion page on the IASB’s website.

IFRS conference in Dubai

24 Jul 2017

The IFRS Foundation has announced a Middle East IFRS conference in Dubai on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 October 2017.

In addition to updates on major IFRSs (IFRS 17, IFRS 9, IFRS 15, IFRS 16), better communication in finacial reporting, and materiality, the conference will also feature a panel discussion on Islamic accounting. Therefore, the list of speakers not only includes IASB Chair and Vice-Chair, IASB members and staff but also the Chair of the IASB Islamic Finance Consultative Group.

Please click for more information on the conference website (registration required to view the programme) and a preview of the programme as currently planned on the IASB website (no registration required).

IASB issues podcast on latest Board developments

24 Jul 2017

The IASB has released a podcast featuring its Chair, Hans Hoogervorst and Vice-Chair, Sue Lloyd discussing the deliberations at the July 2017 IASB Meeting.

The podcast features discussions of the following topics:

  • Investor reactions to IFRS 17,
  • Materiality practice statement,
  • Prepayment features with negative compensation and modification of liabilities (IFRS 9),
  • Rate-regulated activities, and
  • Goodwill and impairment.

The podcast can be accessed through the press release on the IASB website. More information on the topics discussed is available through our comprehensive notes taken by Deloitte observers of the July 2017 Meeting.

Updated IASB work plan — Analysis

21 Jul 2017

Following the IASB's July 2017 meeting, we have analysed the IASB work plan to see what changes have resulted from the meeting and other developments in the month of July. Changes are minor and the main message is that the IASB does currently not intend to issue any pronouncements until September 2017.

General remarks

The IASB continues to not date its work plans any longer, but has re-introduced the possibility of creating a PDF version of the work plan at any given time for personal use. To achieve this, use the "Print this tab" link near the top of the page and then choose creating a PDF.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 28 June 2017.

Standard-setting projects

  • No changes

Maintenance projects

Research projects

Other projects

  • No changes

The above is a faithful comparison of the IASB work plan at 28 June 2017 and at 21 July 2017. For access to the current IASB work plan at any time, please click here.

IASB appoints new Executive Technical Director

21 Jul 2017

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has appointed Nili Shah as Executive Technical Director. She follows Hugh Shields in the role of leading the IASB's technical staff and being responsible for the efficient delivery of all technical activities.

Ms Shah, who will take office in October 2017, is currently Deputy Chief Accountant of the Division of Corporation Finance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In that capacity she has supported the SEC staff’s discussions on IFRSs within the International Organization of Securities Commission’s (IOSCO) accounting technical committee.

Please click for more information in the press release on the IASB website.

IFRS 17 webinar for investors

21 Jul 2017

The IASB has made available a recording of a webinar held jointly by the IFRS Foundation and the Canadian Accounting Standards Board on IFRS 17 in July 2017.

The webinar was tailored to investors and covered the following questions:

  • Why IFRS 17 was developed?
  • How does IFRS 17 work?
  • What are the benefits of IFRS 17?

There is also a section with answers to questions submitted by investors during the webinar.

Please click to access the webinar through the press release on the IASB website.

July 2017 IASB meeting notes posted

20 Jul 2017

The IASB met at its offices in London on 18 and 19 July 2017. We have posted our comprehensive Deloitte observer notes for all projects discussed during the meeting.

On Tuesday, the meeting started with positive feedback on outreach the IASB staff have undertaken with investors and analysts in relation to the recently issued IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts. The Board decided to proceed towards finalisation of two of the proposed amendments included in the Annual Improvements to IFRS Standards 2015–2017 Cycle related to IAS 12 Income Taxes and IAS 23 Borrowing Costs. The Board asked the staff to undertake more research on a possible amendment to IFRIC 14 IAS 19—The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction.

The day finished with a session on Disclosure Initiative: Materiality Practice Statement. The Board decided to remove two paragraphs and an example relating to the impact of covenants on the materiality of other information.

On Wednesday, The Board decided to finalise the amendments the proposed amendment to IFRS 9 on prepayment features with negative compensation and, as part of that package, to highlight in the Basis for Conclusions the relevant accounting requirements for a modification of financial liabilities that does not result in derecognition. The amendments will have an effective date of 1 January 2019, rather than the originally proposed 1 January 2018, with earlier application permitted.

The remaining sessions were educational in nature. The Board continued its discussions on rate-regulated activities, focusing on control and matching; and recognition and uncertainty. It also discussed possible revisions to the assessment of goodwill impairment, mainly focusing on feedback from outreach. No decisions were made in these education sessions.

It was Stephen Cooper’s final Board meeting.

Please click to access the detailed notes taken by Deloitte observers for the entire meeting.

Illustrative tagging for IFRS 17

19 Jul 2017

The IFRS Foundation has published illustrative tagging for the proposed IFRS Taxonomy update regarding IFRS 17 'Insurance Contracts'.

The illustrative tagging shows how selected information from the Illustrative Examples accompanying IFRS 17 could be tagged using the IFRS Taxonomy Update that was proposed together with the issuance of IFRS 17 on 18 May 2017 and is currently expected to be published in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The illustrative tagging is available through the IASB's supporting material section of the Taxonomy Update project page.

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.