Mr Seidenstein will begin his three-year term on 1 July 2019, where he will succeed Arnold Schilder. Mr Seidenstein was recommended for the position by the Interim Nominating Committee, endorsed by the IFAC Board, and approved by the Public Interest Oversight Board.

For more information, see the press release on the IAASB’s website.

The new European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) aims at improving accessibility and at making the information much more user-friendly. The move will also facilitate the availability of key financial information in all EU official languages. In support of these new rules, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has prepared an ESEF Reporting Manual and ESEF taxonomy files to help companies in their preparation. The new provisions will be updated on a yearly basis to reflect possible updates to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) taxonomy, which aims to improve communication between preparers and users of financial statements.

Please click for the following additional information:

• European Commission press release
• ESEF Regulation as published in the Official Journal of the European Union
• ESEF Q&As
• ESEF Reporting Manual
• ESEF taxonomy files

The full agenda for the meeting is summarised below:

For more information, see the meeting page on the IASB's website.

Mr Jones' work as an accounting standard-setter followed a successful career in investment banking. In 2007, Financial Executives International recognised his career achievements by inducting him into the FEI Hall of Fame.

Please click for the statement on the passing of Mr Jones on the IASB website.

Background

In March 2018, the IASB issued the 2018 Conceptual Framework and most references to the Framework included in IFRSs were updated to the 2018 Framework at that time. However, paragraph 11 of IFRS 3 Business Combinations, which still refers to the 1989 Framework, was not updated as this could have caused conflicts for entities applying IFRS 3.

Potential conflicts occur as the definition of assets and liabilities in the 2018 Framework differ to those in the 1989 Framework potentially leading to day 2 gains or losses post-acquisition for some balances recognised.

The IASB has now identified three possible amendments to IFRS 3 that would update IFRS 3 without significantly changing its requirements.

Suggested changes

The changes proposed in ED/2019/3 Reference to the Conceptual Framework (Proposed amendments to IFRS 3):

• update IFRS 3 so that it refers to the 2018 Conceptual Framework instead of the 1989 Framework;
• add to IFRS 3 a requirement that, for transactions and other events within the scope of IAS 37 or IFRIC 21, an acquirer should apply IAS 37 or IFRIC 21 (instead of the Conceptual Framework) to identify the liabilities it has assumed in a business combination; and
• add to IFRS 3 an explicit statement that an acquirer should not recognise contingent assets acquired in a business combination.

The exposure draft also notes alternative approaches considered by the Board as well as the Board's reasons for not choosing those.

Comments on the proposed changes are requested by 27 September 2019.

Effective date

The exposure draft does not contain a proposed effective date for the amendments as the intention is to decide on it after the exposure period. However, it is already clear that early application would be permitted if an entity also applies all other updated references (published together with the updated Conceptual Framework) at the same time or earlier.

Additional information

Please click for:

• IASB press release (link to IASB website)
• Access to the exposure draft on the IASB website
• Deloitte's IFRS in Focus newsletter explaining the proposed amendments
• Our IAS Plus project page on IFRS 3 — Updating a reference to the Conceptual Framework

The podcast features discussions of the following topics in more detail (length of the podcast: 13 minutes):

• IFRS Foundation consultation on IFRS IC and IASB agenda decisions
• Proposed amendments to IAS 39 and IFRS 9 in the context of the IBOR reform
• Forthcoming exposure draft of amendments to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts
• Disclosure Initiative — Targeted standards-level review of disclosures
• Management commentary
• Rate-regulated activities
• Goodwill and impairment
• 2019 Review of the IFRS for SMEs

The podcast can be accessed through the press release on the IASB website. More information on the topics discussed is available through our comprehensive notes taken by Deloitte observers at the May IASB meeting.

As reported earlier, among the topics discussed at the meeting were amendments to IFRS 17 and the EC fitness check on public reporting by companies.

The full list of topics discussed at the meeting was:

• EFRAG's discussion paper on non-exchange transfers
• FRC's research project on ‘Variable and contingent consideration’
• Proposals for the NFP accounting technical advisory group
• Presentation of finance cost - IAS 1, IFRS 7, IAS 23
• Follow-up on AcSB's project on performance measures reporting
• Climate related and other emerging risk issues on financial statements and the impact of practice statement 2 on materiality
• Optional breakout sessions:
  • Inline XBRL and blockchain
  • IFRS for SMEs: Standard review; Relief for subsidiaries
• IFRS 17 (I): Tentative views of the IASB on upcoming amendments to IFRS 17
• IFRS 17 (II): Implementation activities, insights, experience
• Financial reporting in an electronic format
• The Fitness check on the EU framework for public reporting by companies: Result of the consultation
• Financial instruments with characteristics of equity: Preferred approach and IFRIC 2
• Improving the impairment testing model in IAS 36 Impairment of Assets

The meeting also saw the handover of official duties to the incoming IFASS Chair Mr. Yasunobu Kawanishi (Accounting Standards Board of Japan, ASBJ).

The next meeting of the IFASS will take place in London in October 2019.

Please click for the full report from the meeting.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) have jointly released the TCFD Implementation Guide intended to help companies to more effectively take the TCFD recommendations from principles to practice, to offer greater insight into the material climate-related financial risks and opportunities they face, equipping investors with reliable, comparable, decision-useful information, and enhancing the resilience and stability of global capital markets to drive sustainable, long-term economic development. Please click to download the guide on the SASB website.

Twenty institutional investors from eleven countries convened by the UN Environment Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) have launched comprehensive investor guidance to help assess how climate change and climate action could impact investor portfolios around the world. These assessments enable investors to be more transparent about their climate-related risks and opportunities in line with the TCFD recommendations. They will also help investors contribute to and benefit from the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies. The press release on the UNEP FI website offers a short overview and access to the guidance.

A majority of executives, nearly 9 out of 10, say that organisations need to do a better job focusing on wider value considerations beyond financial performance, according to a pulse check survey included in a new brief Purpose and Profit published by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The press release on the IIRC website offers a short overview and access to the full brief.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has published Insights into integrated reporting 3.0: The drive for authenticity. The report examines the reporting practices of organisations in the IIRC’s <IR> Business Network. It highlights the progress made towards integrated reporting over the past year, discusses the challenges that preparers face, and gives practical recommendations to guide more organisations on the path to integrated reporting. Please click to access the report on the ACCA website.

The Integrated Reporting Committee (IRC) of South Africa makes a comparative analysis of integrated reporting in ten countries available. The authors selected five companies from each of the following countries: Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the United Statesfor the study. They found that countries could be fairly clearly grouped into three categories of qualities of disclosure: High (Germany, the Netherlands, and South Africa), Medium (France, Italy, South Korea, and the United Kingdom), and Low (Brazil, Japan, and the United States). Please click to access the study on the IRC website.

The World Intellectual Capital/Asset Initiative (WICI) has published Implementation Guidance: Integrated Reporting for SMEs aimed at giving the IIRC's <IR> Framework a specific connotation addressed to small-sized entities as interest in integrated reporting has grown amongst non-listed companies. Please click to access the guide on the WICI website.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) notes the following developments:

• A draft GRI Waste Standard is out for public comment until 15 July (press release);
• The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) is launching a project to review the universal GRI Standards - an online survey is open until 9 June to enable stakeholders to provide feedback on the current standards to inform the review of them (press release);
• New French and Chinese translations of GRI Standards are available;
• A global search has been launched to find new members for GRI's decision making and advisory functions (press release).

The United Nation's Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative notes that Nasdaq has fulfilled a commitment it made as an SSE Partner Exchange to provide guidance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting to its markets with the launch of its new global ESG reporting guide for public and private companies. Please please click to access the guide through the press release on the SSE website.

Over 700 practitioners from 7 countries responded to the survey which revealed that accountants are instrumental in the decision of micro-entities to take-up the option for simplified accounting. Nevertheless, many eligible micro-entities are unaware of the option.

The key findings presented in the survey report include:

• The level of awareness of the existence of the micro-entities option varies significantly from country to country;
• A clear majority of accountants recommended their eligible clients to take-up the micro-entities option and actual rates of take-up closely mirror this;
• The main reasons accountants gave for recommending the micro-entities option were cost savings and greater privacy from reduced disclosures; and
• While most accountants did not expect to change their view of the micro-entities regime most did expect the take-up to increase in the future.

Please click to access the full survey report on the EFAA website.