You can access the agenda on our February 2011 IASB meeting page. We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available.

• IFRS for SMEs adoption news
  • Ghana. All 'small and medium scale enterprises' (SMEs) , state-owned organisations, and private organisations are required to use the IFRS for SMEs starting with their financial statements for 2010. Listed companies and financial institutions are required to use full IFRSs.
  • Honduras. Honduras has adopted the IFRS for SMEs for statutory reporting in both consolidated and separate company financial statements starting in 2012, as an alternative to full IFRSs.
  • Jamaica. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica has adopted the IFRS for SMEs for all companies without public accountability starting 1 January 2011, except for companies that (a) elect to use full IFRSs or (b) are government owned. 'Government-owned entities' are those subject to The Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act.
• PowerPoint presentations about the IFRS For SMEs The staff has also posted three new PowerPoint presentations about the IFRS For SMEs (all of the available via the IASB's IFRS for SMEs Presentations Page):
  • "Why the World Needs a Separate Standard for Private Companies, and Why the US Does, Too"
  • "Introduction and Overview of IFRS for SMEs"
  • "The IFRS for SMEs"

 

This batch includes editorial corrections and changes to Bound Volume (Red Book) 2010, Bound Volume (Blue Book) 2011, Improvements to IFRSs (issued May 2010), The Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (issued September 2010), Disclosures—Transfers of Financial Assets (issued October 2010), IFRS 9 Financial Instruments (issued October 2010), Deferred Tax: Recovery of Underlying Assets (issued December 2010) and Severe Hyperinflation and Removal of Fixed Dates for First-time Adopters (issued December 2010).

Click for Editorial Corrections to IFRSs (link to IASB website)

 

The working paper, The Impact of Mandatory IFRS Adoption on Foreign Mutual Fund Ownership: The Role of Comparability, examines the change in foreign mutual fund investment in firms that began using IFRS after its mandatory adoption in the European Union (EU) in 2005, which the authors term a potential "real effect" of accounting.

The findings in the paper suggest that the effects of improved comparability associated with mandatory IFRS adoption on cross-border investment depend both on the institutional environment that shapes firms' reporting incentives (strong implementation credibility through the regulatory environment and management incentives) and on the extent of increased number of industry peers using the same accounting standards (uniformity).

With the current global debates on the implementation of IFRS in a number of the world's major jurisdictions (e.g. the United States and India), the paper is a timely reminder of how the objectives of IFRS might be best achieved.

Click to download the paper (PDF 372k). We have posted the paper with the kind permission of the authors, Mark DeFond (University of Southern California), Xuesong Hu (University of Oregon), Mingyi Hung (University of Southern California) and Siqi Li (Santa Clara University).

FRSB expressed some disappointment that the IASB's recent amendment to IAS 12 Income Taxes, as although it provides relief for entities that measure investment property using the revaluation model in accordance with IAS 40 Investment Property, the amendment does not incorporate all the amendments as initially proposed and supported by the FRSB.

New Zealand does not have a capital gains tax and has recently changed its tax treatment of buildings, resulting in many entities recognising substantial deferred tax liabilities. Many in New Zealand hold the view the application of IAS 12 in these circumstances produces outcomes that do not best reflect an entity's tax position.

In its 3 December 2010 meeting, the IASB noted the concerns of New Zealand and expressed a willingness to work towards a solution if it can be quickly and easily implemented. If such a solution can be formulated, the IASB may consider and expose a limited amendment to IAS 12. If such a solution cannot be found, then the matter would be considered when the Board conducts a comprehensive review of IAS 12 in future. The FRSB has agreed to establish a subcommittee to consider the matter further with a view to liaising with the IASB in the near future.

Similar deferred tax issues also arise in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions. Hong Kong for instance has amended its local implementation of the IFRS for SMEs to change the way deferred taxes are calculated to address some of these issues.

Click for our New Zealand country page.

You can access the agenda on our 1-2 March 2011 joint meeting page.  We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available.

Deloitte (Colombia)

• IASB emite revisiones al IFRS 9 para la contabilidad del pasivo financiero (PDF 240k) – a Spanish translation of IFRS in Focus: IASB issues revisions to IFRS 9 for financial liability accounting
• Boletín Heads Up Volumen 17, No. 39, Noviembre 2010: Tarjeta de reporte: ¿A, F o Incompleto? - Los constituyentes comparten puntos de vista sobre el proyecto AFI de FASB (PDF 300k) – a Spanish translation of Heads Up: Report Card: A, F, or Incomplete? - Constituents Share Views on the FASB's AFI Project
• Boletín Heads Up Volumen 17, No. 37, Noviembre 2010: ¿Un paso más cerca de los IFRS? - La SEC emite el primer reporte sobre el progreso en la consideración de la incorporación de los IFRS en el sistema de los Estados Unidos (PDF 361k) – a Spanish translation of Heads Up: One Step Closer to IFRSs? - SEC Issues First Progress Report on Consideration of Incorporating IFRSs Into U.S. System

Deloitte (United States)

• Financial Reporting Alert 11-1, SEC's Focus on Compliance With Loss Contingency Disclosures (link to Deloitte (United States) website)
• Accounting Roundup: January 2011 (PDF 321k)
• Accounting Roundup — Special Edition: First Wave of Accounting Changes Coming (PDF 231k) – update on joint FASB/IASB convergence projects and FASB-only projects that will affect future financial reporting.

 

The PCAOB said it has cumulatively conducted inspections of one or more registered firms in 35 jurisdictions as of December 2010. At the same time, the PCAOB noted that in 2010 it was denied access to information necessary to conduct inspections in China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Discussions are continuing with the relevant authorities in those jurisdictions in an effort to resolve their objections to PCAOB inspections (the PCAOB executed a bilateral agreement with the UK audit regulator in early January 2011 that provides a basis for the resumption of PCAOB inspections in the UK). The PCAOB has announced the 31 jurisdictions in which the PCAOB plans to conduct inspections in 2011, including all of those in which access was denied in 2010.

Click for:

• Updated Information on PCAOB International Inspections (link to PCAOB website)
• Jurisdictions in which PCAOB Has Conducted Inspections of Registered Non-U.S. Firms (link to PCAOB website)
• Registered Firms not yet Inspected even though Four Years have Passed since Issuance of an Audit Report while Registered (link to PCAOB website)
• International Jurisdictions Intended for PCAOB Inspections in 2011 (link to PCAOB website)

 

This follows the nomination by the ESMA's Board of Supervisors on 11 January 2011. It is anticipated that Maijoor will take office on 1 April 2011. The term for the Chairperson is five years and may be extended once.

Steven Maijoor is currently a Director at the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) where he is in charge of financial reporting, auditing issues, market integrity supervision and part of the business operations.

Click for:

• ESMA press release (PDF 422k, link to ESMA website)
• Further ESMA news on our IFRSs in Europe pages