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EC proposes revised accounting directives

04 Jun 2002

The European Commission has proposed to amend the existing European Union Accounting Directives as part of its plan to create an integrated financial services market in Europe.

The proposal complements the IAS Regulation, due for final adoption by the Council in the next few days, that will require all EU companies listed on a regulated market to use IAS from 2005 onwards and will allow Member States to extend the IAS requirement to all companies. The proposed changes will remove all inconsistencies between the Directives and IAS in existence at 1 May 2002.

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EC adopts auditor independence recommendations

04 Jun 2002

The European Commission has adopted non-binding recommendations regarding auditor independence.Click for: Text of recommendations (PDF 168k) Press Release (PDF 42k) .

The European Commission has adopted non-binding recommendations regarding auditor independence.Click for:

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SEC likely to propose rules on completeness of disclosures

03 Jun 2002

In a (PDF 54k) before the Rocky Mountain Securities Conference, Alan L.

Beller, the new head of the US SEC's Division of Corporation Finance, revealed a proposal for increased accountability of individual corporate leaders:

We will be recommending to the Commission in the near future that it propose rules that will require [individual corporate] leaders to certify that everything they know that they believe is important to investors has been disclosed in a company's periodic reports. This is a simple but powerful approach. We believe that it will increase involvement of corporate leaders in disclosure, make them focus on what they themselves consider important and improve the overall quality of a company's reports.

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FEE position paper on accounting and auditing in Europe

03 Jun 2002

The European Federation of Accountants (FEE) has published a Position Paper on the Role of Accounting and Auditing in Europe.

The report identifies a series of action items in light of recent high profile international business failures and concerns about the current state of corporate governance and financial reporting in Europe. Click for More Information.
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IASB issues 'Asset Ceiling' amendment to IAS 19

31 May 2002

The IASB has published a limited amendment to IAS 19, Employee Benefits.

The amendment fixes a perceived problem caused by the interaction of two aspects of IAS 19 - the option to defer actuarial gains and losses and the limit on the amount that can be recognised as an asset (the 'asset ceiling').

The Board concluded that IAS 19 was giving rise to counter-intuitive results because an actuarial loss in the pension plan could give rise to a reported gain in the entity's financial statements and an actuarial gain in the pension plan could give rise to a reported loss. The amendment prohibits gain or loss recognition in these circumstances.

Click for IASB Press Release (PDF 12k). Click here for Project Info.

 

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Free real-time access to all SEC filings

31 May 2002

The US Securities and Exchange Commission's website has begun providing free, real-time access to its EDGAR Database of Corporate Filings.

Previously, EDGAR filings did not appear on the SEC's website for at least 24 hours. The SEC requires all public companies (except those with less than $10 million in assets and fewer than 500 shareholders) to file registration statements, quarterly and annual reports, and other forms electronically through the EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval) system. (PDF 35k).
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Summary of Preface to IFRS

30 May 2002

We have posted a Summary of the Preface to International Financial Reporting Standards, published by IASB earlier this month.

We have posted a Summary of the Preface to International Financial Reporting Standards, published by IASB earlier this month.

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Newsletter summarising IASB Improvements ED is available

29 May 2002

We have posted a Special Edition of our IAS Plus Newsletter (12 pages, bullet points) summarising the main proposals in the 400-page IASB Exposure Draft, Improvements to International Accounting Standards. (PDF 113k). Project Information. .

We have posted a Special Edition of our IAS Plus Newsletter (12 pages, bullet points) summarising the main proposals in the 400-page IASB Exposure Draft, Improvements to International Accounting Standards.

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IOSCO cites progress toward global accounting standards

29 May 2002

In the Final Communiqué of the XXVIIth Annual Conference (18-24 May 2002) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, IOSCO noted considerable progress toward acceptance of IAS by its members: Following up on its Resolution Concerning the Use of IASC Standards for the Purpose of Facilitating Multinational Securities Offerings and Cross Border Listings adopted by the Presidents' Committee in May 2000, IOSCO conducted a survey of the acceptance of International Accounting Standards by IOSCO members.

The results indicate that many jurisdictions permit incoming issuers to use IAS, and others are actively working towards this end. Moreover, since May 2000, there have been a number of developments promoting the use of IAS. These include: (i) the decision of the EU Council of Ministers (ECOFIN Council) requiring the use of IAS by 2005; (ii) the completion of the reconstitution of the IASB into a full-time independent standard setter, and (iii) the formation of the Committee of European Securities Regulators with a special sub-group devoted to these issues. Looking ahead, to further these efforts, IOSCO encourages the IASB and national standard setters to work cooperatively and expeditiously to achieve convergence in order to facilitate cross-border offerings and listings and encourages regulators to address the broader issues of consistent interpretation, application and enforcement.
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Project pages updated for May 2002 Board decisions

29 May 2002

We have updated the following project pages for Board decisions at the May 2002 meeting: Business Combinations First-Time Application of IFRS Insurance Contracts Performance Reporting Share-Based Payment .

We have updated the following project pages for Board decisions at the May 2002 meeting:

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