IASB Vice-Chair speaks at annual AICPA conference

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09 Dec 2020

At the 2020 AICPA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments, which is currently being held by remote participation, IASB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd spoke about the IASB's reaction to COVID-19 challenges and other important Board developments in 2020. She also noted developments to be expected next year and developments in sustainability reporting.

On COVID-19, Ms Lloyd noted that the IASB's approach to dealing with the effects of the pandemic was similar to the FASB’s approach. The IASB published educational material to explain how to apply the existing requirements in IFRSs in the context of COVID-19 and issued one small amendment to IFRS 16. The IASB also reconfigured its work plan to allow for the extra demands that have been put on the stakeholders.

Regarding other important Board developments in 2020, Ms Lloyd pointed out that the IASB finalised amendments to IFRS 17, completed important changes to several standards in response to the IBOR reform, and launched two important consultations — on primary financial statements and on goodwill and impairment.

As an example of important developments to be expected next year, Ms Lloyd noted the agenda consultation the IASB will launch in early 2021. She especially encouraged responding to the consultation as this is an important opportunity for the stakeholders to tell the IASB which standard-setting projects they think are important for the IASB to consider and how the IASB should prioritise its work.

Lastly, Ms Lloyd discussed developments in sustainability reporting and pointed at the Trustees' consultation paper published to assess demand for global sustainability standards and, if demand is strong, to assess whether and to what extent the IFRS Foundation might contribute to the development of such standards.

The full text of the speech is available on the IASB website.

The AICPA conference ran from 7 to 9 December and featured speeches by — as well as panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions with — members of the SEC, PCAOB, FASB, and IASB and professionals from various industries. Our US colleagues have prepared a Heads Up newsletter with highlights from all days of the conference.

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