The third webinar on 9 July 2020 will explain the Board’s detailed proposals for disaggregation including general guidance, the analysis of operating expenses and unusual income and expenses. The webinar will last approximately 60 minutes and will include a question-and-answer session. More information is available here.

The first letter tasks the Steering Group of the European Reporting Lab with appointing a multi-stakeholder project task force to carry out the preparatory work for possible standards. The second letter is directed ad personam to the EFRAG Board President to consider a possible need for changes to the governance and financing of EFRAG if it were to be tasked with the development of European non-financial reporting standards in a revised NFRD. 

The press release on the EFRAG website offers access to both letters.

The participants discussed:

• Digital experience for customers and stakeholders — Council members received a presentation on the Foundation’s digital experience. The proposed digital framework was well received by the members.
• Key performance indicators (KPIs) on Board technical activities — Council members reviewed the areas of the Board’s technical work that will benefit from the use of KPIs; the types of KPIs to be used; the manner in which KPIs support the Foundation’s key objectives as well as KPIs’ limitations; and the use and interpretation of KPI data.
• Monitoring adoption — Council members received presentations BCBS, IOSCO, and the IMF. Each organisation shared some of the pertinent lessons learnt from their experience in monitoring and assessing standards.
• Update on Board activities and Update on the Board’s activities — Council members received updates on recent trustee activities and on recent activities of the Board and the IFRS Foundation.

The full meeting summary is available on the IASB's website. There are also recordings of the individual sessions.

The report for 2019 provides an overview of the IFRS Foun­da­tion’s ac­tiv­i­ties during the past year and sets out the Foun­da­tion’s and IASB’s pri­or­i­ties for 2020.

For more in­for­ma­tion, see the press release and annual report (available in PDF format, inline XBRL version, and XBRL files)  on the IASB’s website.

IBOR Reform and the Effects of Financial Reporting: The IASB discussed feedback on the Exposure Draft (ED) Interest Rate Benchmark Reform—Phase 2 (Proposed Amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39, IFRS 7, IFRS 4 and IFRS 16), published in April 2020. The IASB supported all of the staff recommendations. The proposals on accounting for qualifying hedging relationships and groups of items will be discussed in July 2020, when the staff also expect to ask the IASB to finalise the proposals.

Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current—Deferral of Effective Date of Amendments to IAS 1: The IASB decided to finalise its proposal to defer the effective date of the amendments by one year to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023.

Disclosure Initiative: Accounting Policies: The Board decided to apply the concept of materiality to all types of accounting policy information, including accounting policy information that is standardised information or information that duplicates or summarises the requirements of a Standard.

Disclosure Initiative: Targeted Standards-level Review of Disclosures: The Board decided to begin the balloting process on Exposure Draft (ED) Targeted Standards-level Review of Disclosures—Amendments to IAS 19 and IFRS 13. It will have a comment period of 180 days (longer than the normal minimum of 120 days because the proposals could have significant consequences).

Extractive Activities: In September 2019, the IASB asked the staff to assess what problems, if any, entities with extractive activities have when applying IFRS requirements and whether the primary users of their financial statements are getting all the information they need. At this meeting the staff reported the results of their research, which indicated mixed views. The main Board comments focused on challenges in setting the scope of the project and low levels of engagement with users. No decisions were made.

Maintenance and Consistent Application

Sale of a Subsidiary to a Customer. In October 2019, the Board discussed the accounting for transactions that involve the sale of a subsidiary to a customer when that subsidiary holds a single asset and whether IFRS 10 or IFRS 15 should apply. The Board rejected the staff recommendation to amend IFRS 10 to place such transactions within the scope of IFRS 15.

Accounting Policy Changes (proposed amendments to IAS 8 in relation to agenda decisions). In December 2019, the Trustees amended the Due Process Handbook to clarify that the explanatory material in an agenda decision derives its authority from the Standards and accordingly, entities are required to apply the applicable Standards, reflecting the explanatory material in an agenda decision. ED/2018/1 Accounting Policy Changes proposed amending IAS 8 to simplify the application of accounting policy changes that result from an agenda decision. The Board decided not to proceed with the proposed amendments and to do no further work on the project.

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

The podcast discusses:

• IBOR reform and the effects on financial reporting — Phase 2;
• Classification of liabilities as current or non-current;
• Disclosure initiative — Accounting policies;
• Disclosure initiative — Targeted standards-level review of disclosures; and
• Maintenance and consistent application.

The podcast also touches on the publication of the amended insurance contracts standard IFRS 17.

The podcast (17 minutes) can be accessed through the press release on the IASB website.

Mr Kabureck's update is structured along the following ten questions:

1. What are these business combinations?
2. Why is the Board doing the project?
3. What is the focus of the project?
4. What has the Board heard?
5. Why not a single method in all cases?
6. When would the acquisition method be applied?
7. When would a book-value method be applied?
8. What about costs to companies?
9. How would financial reporting improve?
10. What happens next?

Please click to access the comprehensive and informative update on the IASB website.

The successful research projects relate to projects and standards of the IASB:

• Extractive activities: Financial Statement Comparability in Extractive Industries: International Evidence 
• IFRS 9 Financial Instruments: The Impact of Hedging and Hedge Reporting on Managers’ and Investors’ Decisions
• IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers: An Assessment of Corporate Disclosures of IFRS 15: Revenue from Contracts with Customers
• Primary Financial Statements: Are Non-GAAP Measures Running Amok? Evidence on the Proliferation of Non-GAAP Adjustments and the Quality of the Related Disclosures 
• Primary Financial Statements: Income Statement Presentation and Forecasting Quality

The researchers will present their findings to the Program Advisory Committee, the Board and its technical staff in three deliverables. The first round of presentations will take place in December 2020.

Please click for more information on the IASB website.

Auditing Accounting Estimates in the Current Evolving Environment Due to COVID-19 notes that management is responsible for the recognition and measurement of accounting estimates and related disclosures in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework. As financial reporting frameworks often require forward-looking information and yet the COVID-19 pandemic comes with a lot of uncertainties, it will likely be more difficult for management to develop accounting estimates, in particular future cash flows. The COVID-19 pandemic could also result in triggers for impairment testing. Therefore, the IAASB notes, auditors will need to focus on the potential impacts of volatility and uncertainty when auditing accounting estimates.

Please click to access the guidance on the IAASB website.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 25 May 2020.

Stan­dard-set­ting projects

• No changes

Main­te­nance projects

• Accounting Policy Changes (Amendments to IAS 8) — this project has been removed from the work plan as the Board decided not to continue with this project.
• Amendments to IFRS 17 — this project has been removed from the work plan due to the issuance of the amendments.
• IFRS 16 and COVID-19 — this project has been removed from the work plan due to the issuance of the amendments.
• Supply Chain Financing Arrangements — Reverse Factoring — this project has been added to the work plan with a tentative agenda decision expected in the second half of 2020.
• The Board decided not to add a project on the sale of a subsidiary to a customer to the work plan (the staff had recommended a narrow-scope amendment).

Research projects

• No changes.

Other projects

• IFRS Taxonomy update — Common Practice (IAS 19 Employee Benefits) — this project has been added to the work plan with a proposed IFRS taxonomy update expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.
• IFRS Taxonomy update — Covid-19-re­lated rent con­ces­sions (Amendment to IFRS 16) — feedback on the proposed update is expected in July 2020.
• IFRS Taxonomy update — Interest rate benchmark reform — Phase 2  — this project has been added to the work plan with a proposed IFRS taxonomy update expected in the third quarter of 2020.

The above is a faithful com­par­i­son of the IASB work plan at 25 May 2020 and at 26 June 2020. For access to the current IASB work plan at any time, please click here.