News

United Kingdom Image

ICAS urges only two tiers of standards in the UK

06 Aug 2006

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland's Accounting Standards Committee recommends that the United Kingdom should move towards adopting a single set of International Accounting Standards for all companies except the smallest as quickly as possible.

ICAS supports the development of a simplified international standard for small companies (a project currently under way at the IASB), but is "opposed to what would be a third set of accounting standards applicable to medium-sized and unlisted companies. These companies should follow full IFRSs, although reduced disclosure requirements for these companies, as well as for subsidiaries, may be appropriate." ICAS is keen for the ASB to encourage the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to address this issue on an international level. Click for (PDF 35k).
capitol.gif Image

US House passes Financial Reporting Transparency Act

05 Aug 2006

On 25 July 2006, the US House of Representatives passed HR 5024 the Promoting Transparency in Financial Reporting Act of 2006.

The Act would require the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to give annual testimony, beginning in 2007, updating the House Financial Services Committee on their efforts to:
  • reassess complex and outdated accounting standards;
  • improve the understandability, consistency, and overall usability of the existing accounting and auditing literature;
  • develop principles-based accounting standards;
  • encourage the use and acceptance of interactive data; and
  • promote disclosures in plain English.
Rep. Michael Oxley, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said:

This legislation would help our nation's regulators reassess the effectiveness of their regulations governing financial reporting. The SEC, FASB, and PCAOB all have an important responsibility to increase the usefulness of financial disclosures to investors. This legislation would provide an important opportunity for congressional oversight to evaluate the efforts by the SEC, FASB and PCAOB.

The bill has now been referred to the Senate for consideration. Click for:
oldglobe.gif Image

Standard setting activity in Asia-Pacific region

05 Aug 2006

We have updated the following pages on this website to reflect recent standard setting activity in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia China Hong Kong SAR Japan Malaysia New Zealand Philippines Singapore .

We have updated the following pages on this website to reflect recent standard setting activity in the Asia-Pacific region:

European Union (old) Image

EC Standards Advice Review Group established

04 Aug 2006

The European Commission has established a Standards Advice Review Group (SARG) in the area of accounting "to ensure objectivity and proper balance of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group's (EFRAG) opinions".

The Group will be composed of independent experts and high-level representatives from National Standard Setters whose experience and competence in accounting are widely recognised. The Group's task will be to assess whether the endorsement advice given by the EFRAG is well balanced and objective. The group will deliver its advice normally within three weeks. The final advice will be published on the Commission's website. EC Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said:

The Standards Advice Review Group will be an important element of the EU's accounting standards architecture. By delivering independent advice on EFRAG's recommendations it will give extra assurance that the accounting standards adopted in the EU are of the highest quality.

Click for (PDF 82k).
United States & European Union (old) Image

SEC and CESR launch financial reporting work plan

03 Aug 2006

The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) have released a joint work plan on financial reporting.

The main focus of the plan is the application by internationally active companies of International Financial Reporting Standards and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States and the European Union, respectively. The plan envisions cooperation by the staffs of the SEC and CESR on the modernization of financial reporting and disclosure information technology, and regulatory platforms for risk management. The stated goal of the staff cooperation is to promote:
  • the development of high quality accounting standards;
  • the high quality and consistent application of IFRS around the world;
  • full consideration of international counterparts' positions regarding application and enforcement; and
  • the avoidance of conflicting regulatory decisions on the application of IFRS and US GAAP.

Regarding the use of IFRSs and US GAAP by internationally active issuers, plan plan envisions, among other things confidential protocols for timely alert and exchange of information between the SEC staff and CESR-Fin, as follows:

  • The SEC staff and CESR-Fin will share views on the future development of IFRS and US GAAP including priorities, timetables and developments related to convergence. Further, they will discuss perspectives and efforts to facilitate consistent interpretation and application of IFRS across jurisdictions.
  • The SEC staff will apprise CESR-Fin of policy developments related to the elimination of the need for foreign private issuers filing in the United States to reconcile IFRS financial statements to US GAAP by 2009 at the latest.
  • CESR-Fin will apprise the SEC staff of policy developments related to the acceptance of US and the other national GAAPs in the European capital markets under the EU Transparency and Prospectus Directives.
  • The SEC staff and CESR-Fin (or its relevant member) will exchange information relating to the topical areas within IFRS and US GAAP that their experiences and issuer review work have shown to be the most troublesome in terms of high quality and consistent interpretation and application.2 These matters may be candidates for referral items to IFRIC.
  • As needed, CESR-Fin may raise for discussion with the SEC staff issues arising in the US GAAP financial statements of non-US issuers whose securities are listed in the EU.
Click to download:
United Kingdom Image

Review of pension disclosures under IFRSs and UK GAAP

03 Aug 2006

The United Kingdom Financial Reporting Review Panel (FRRP) has published a study of disclosures of defined benefit pension plans under IFRSs and UK GAAP.

The review examined the 2005 pension disclosures of 20 listed groups that used IAS 19 Employee Benefits and of ten large private companies that used UK FRS 17 Retirement Benefits. The FRRP found a "high level of compliance with the detailed disclosure requirements of IAS 19, although there were some omissions," which the report describes. The FRRP concludes that the quality of pensions reporting under IFRSs could be improved by :
  • Better disclosure of the uncertainties surrounding accounting estimates
  • More consistent interpretation of what is meant by principal assumptions
  • A focus on more accessible, and less technical explanations
  • More information about non-standard types of assets held
  • Avoiding detailed disclosure of immaterial amounts
Similarly, compliance was high in respect of compliance with FRS 17, though again a number of omissions were noted. Click to (PDF 239k).
Canada Image

Plan for incorporating IFRSs into Canadian GAAP

02 Aug 2006

In January 2006, the Accounting Standards Board of Canada (AcSB) adopted its Strategic Plan for the Direction of Accounting Standards.

The Plan includes the decision to move financial reporting for Canadian publicly accountable enterprises to a single set of globally accepted high-quality standards, namely, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

The AcSB has now published a more detailed Implementation Plan for Incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into Canadian GAAP (PDF 373k). The Implementation Plan identifies key decisions that the AcSB will need to make as it implements the Strategic Plan for publicly accountable enterprises. Although the Impmentation Plan may be revised and updated as circumstances warrant, currently it envisions 2010 as the last year that publicly accountable enterprises will report under current Canadian GAAP and 2011 as the first year of reporting under a complete set of IFRS-based Canadian standards. Because some current Canadian standards are already IFRS-based, and because others will become IFRS-based before 2011, the changeover to IFRS-based Canadian standards is likely to be more gradual, rather than abrupt, for most enterprises.

Click to view the Strategic Plan for the Direction of Accounting Standards (PDF 139k).

IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) (old) Image

Public Sector Accounting Standards Board update

02 Aug 2006

We have posted the July 2006 issue of IPSASB Update.

The newsletter reports the decisions made at the meeting of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) 3-6 July 2006. The IPSASB develops standards for accounting and financial reporting by national, regional, and local governments and related governmental agencies. Those standards are generally based on IFRSs, and profit-oriented government business enterprises are required to comply directly with IFRSs. The IPSASB's current work programme includes an ongoing project on convergence with IFRSs and projects on several issues on which the IASB is also working, such as the conceptual framework, service concessions, and employee benefits. Click to download:
Heads Up Image

Heads Up on stock options backdating

02 Aug 2006

On 29 July 2006 we posted a News Story on an Audit Practice Alert issued by the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board addressing "Matters Relating to Timing and Accounting for Options Grants".

Globe (green) Image

World accounting standard setters meeting

02 Aug 2006

The International Accounting Standards Board will host a meeting of accounting standard setting bodies from around the world on Monday and Tuesday, 25 and 26 September 2006, at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in London.

The meeting will be open to public observation. Agenda topics for the meeting are as follows:

Agenda: World Accounting Standard Setters Meeting 25-26 September 2006, London

Monday 25 September 2006

  • IFRSs - the IASCF Trustees' Perspective*
  • Conceptual Framework**
  • IFRSs - A view from a Big 4 firm*
  • Discussion of IASB technical plan*
  • International Financial Reporting Standard for SMEs*
  • IASCF educational activities and access to IASB's publications*
Tuesday 26 September 2006
  • Fair Value Measurement**
  • IFRSs - An Analyst's Perspective*
  • IFRIC*
  • Progress on Adoption/Convergence/Implementation of IFRSs**
*These sessions will involve an initial presentation by the speaker followed by Q&A; **These sessions will involve an initial presentation, breakout group discussions, and feedback reports

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.