ISAR is sponsored by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Click to download Mr Shah's Presentation (PDF 36k).

 

He noted that Japan is making progress in converging its accounting standards with IFRSs. And he mentioned that the European Commission will be addressing implementation of global standards including IFRSs and Basel II.

The project, to be conducted in two phases, will be a comprehensive review of the accounting required by IAS 19 Employee Benefits. The first phase will consider revisions that would achieve significant improvements in the short term, with a view to an interim standard being issued in three or four years' time. As the first step in its due process the IASB intends to publish a discussion paper in 2007. The issues to be included in the first phase of the project are:

• accounting for intermediate risk plans (including cash balance plans), including definition of defined benefit and defined contribution arrangements
• smoothing and deferral mechanisms
• presentation and disclosure
• treatment of settlements and curtailments.

The Working Group will provide a variety of expert perspectives on accounting for post-employment benefits, including those of actuaries, auditors and other experts, and preparers and users of financial statements, and regulators. Nominations for Working Group membership are invited by 17 November 2006. Click for Press Release (PDF 56k), which has details about the nomination process.

The roundtable was chaired by Ian Mackintosh, Chairman of the ASB. To provide a context for the roundtable, the ASB prepared a background paper discussing some of the issues arising from the preliminary views paper. That paper and other papers and presentations of roundtable participants have been posted to The ASB's Website.

Bulletin 2006/6 provides illustrative examples of both unmodified and modified auditor's reports of financial statements of companies incorporated in the United Kingdom for periods commencing on or after 1 April 2005. The updated examples of auditors' reports included in the Bulletin take account of the revised standard formulation for expressing compliance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union. The sample audit reports include reports on:

• Group financial statements that are prepared using 'IFRSs as adopted by the European Union'
• Group financial statements that comply with both 'IFRSs as adopted by the European Union' and 'IFRSs as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board' (sometimes called 'dual reporting').

Deloitte & Touche LLP (United States) has published a new edition of the Heads Up newsletter summarising FASB's new standards. Statement 158 requires most publicly-traded companies to fully recognise an asset or liability for the overfunded or underfunded status of their benefit plans in financial statements for years ending after 15 December 2006. For non-public entities, the effective date is fiscal years ending after 15 June 2007. Click to Download the Heads Up Newsletter (PDF 120k).

Ray also noted that the PCAOB is evaluating the need for revisions to or guidance on existing auditing standards on auditing estimates, auditing fair values, and using the work of specialists – all of which are pertinent to the audit of fair value measurements – in light of FASB Statement No. 157 Fair Value Measurements. Click to (PDF 38k).

Topics covered in this issue include:

FASB Developments FASB Issues New Pension Standard, Statement 158 FASB Issues Statement No. 157 Fair Value Measurements FSP on Planned Major Maintenance Activities EITF Developments EITF Meeting of 7 September 2006 GASB Developments Statement on Accounting for Sales and Pledges of Receivables and Future Revenues GASB Adds Project to Technical Plan to Enhance Disclosure Requirements of Governmental Pension Plans AICPA Developments Exposure Draft Proposing New and Revised Interpretations Under Rule 101 Independence SEC Developments SAB 108 Provides Guidance on Materiality OCA Expresses Its Views on the Appropriate Application of the Stock Option Accounting Literature SEC Moves Forward with Its Commitment to XBRL International Developments IFRIC Publishes Proposed Guidance on Customer Loyalty Programs Other Developments Interagency Guidance Issued on Nontraditional Mortgage Products

You will find past issues of Accounting Roundup Here.

The Trustees of the IASC Foundation, under which the IASB operates, will meet in Washington on 26 and 27 October 2006. The agenda of the public portion of the meeting (from 11:15am to 5:00pm on Thursday 26 October) is as follows:

• Opening/Approval of June Minutes
• Review of effectiveness of Trustee oversight
• IASC Foundation position on XBRL
• Report from IASB Chairman
• Report from IFRIC

For more information: see the IASB Website.

Click for Press Release (PDF 50k), which describes the new features. Because of the IASB's changes, we have removed from the IAS Plus home page our links to pages on the old IASB website that had comprehensive lists, with download links, for IASB Update, IFRIC Update, IASB meeting observer notes, IFRIC meeting observer notes, IASB Exposure Drafts, IFRIC Draft Interpretations, IASB Discussion Papers, and IASB Invitations to Comment. The Update newsletters are no longer available without subscription. The observer notes and meeting summaries and some of the comment documents are now available on a project by project basis. Go to the Work Plan Page, click on an individual project, and on that project page you will find links to meeting summaries and observer notes. There is also a page with links to Documents Open to Comment.