The topics discussed were as follows (click through to detailed Deloitte observer notes for that topic):

• Post-employment benefits
• Financial instruments: amortised cost and impairment

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.

The IFRS Readiness Survey is a semi-annual survey of AICPA members that is used to gauge the level of knowledge members have about IFRS, their knowledge needs and the progress their organizations are making towards implementing IFRS.

According to the survey, basic familiarity with IFRS has remained stable since May 2010 at 45% and the number of companies and firms actively preparing for adoption or ready for adoption has remained about the same at 13.5%. 38% of respondents indicated they are delaying implementation while waiting for SEC action.

The largest proportion of respondents support adoption of IFRS, and a majority of members believe a 2015-2016 adoption target would allow enough time for implementation, if the SEC decides in 2011 to require IFRS at a future time. Last week's AICPA comment letter to the SEC on IFRS adoption reflects this view.

Click for AICPA press release and access to the IFRS Readiness Survey 2010 (links to AICPA website).

The survey analyses the narrative reporting of 130 listed companies, split into two categories, being investment trusts and other companies. It includes a review of:

• how compliance with the disclosure requirements of the UK Companies Act 2006, the Listing Rules, the Disclosure and Transparency Rules and the Combined Code varied
• the extent to which companies have adopted the UK Financial Reporting Council's revised guidance on going concern and liquidity
• the use of the UK Accounting Standards Board's Reporting Statement: Operating and Financial Review.

The UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) issued a consultation paper on the future of narrative reporting in the United Kingdom in August 2010. The consultation period closed on 19 October 2010 and Deloitte has provided the results of the 2010 survey to BIS.

Main findings the average length of the annual reports of UK listed companies is now over 100 pages for the first time (at 101 pages), more than double the average length of 44 pages recorded in 1996 when the surveys commenced 93%, 94% and 90% of corporates provided the required information about the environment, employees, and social and community issues respectively. These percentages were a significant improvement on the 2009 equivalents of 87%, 89% and 70% 90% of companies clearly identified key performance indicators, an increase from 84% in 2009. The average number of key performance indicators was seven 4% of companies (2009: 7%) had received a modified audit report relating to going concern. While it is positive that this number has decreased, more companies named the state of the economy as a key business risk. Three quarters of companies did so in 2010 compared with 63% of companies in 2009 35% (2009: 32%) of companies fully complied with the UK's Combined Code on Corporate Governance.

Click for Swimming in words - Surveying narrative reporting in annual reports (PDF 6,619k).

The topics discussed were as follows (click through to detailed Deloitte observer notes for that topic):

• Effective Dates And Transition
• Annual Improvements to IFRSs – 2009-2011
• Extractive Activities – discussion of comments received on the Discussion Paper
• Other Comprehensive Income – comment letter summary
• Financial Instruments: Hedge Accounting
  • Interaction between hedge accounting and the own use' scope exception
  • Hedged items: risk components
  • Disclosures
• Leases – update on outreach activities.

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.

The webinar discusses why the FASB issued the discussion paper and discusses how and why the FASB's preliminary view on certain accounting issues differs from the IASB's exposure draft on insurance contracts.

• Access to the webinar (link to the FASB website)
• Our Insurance Contracts page.

 

Click for:

• Our previous story on exposure draft ED/2010/9 Leases
• Access to the webcast (in Japanese)
• Japan Center of Excellence IFRS web pages (in Japanese)
• Our Japan country page
• Our summary of the leases project.

 

The discussion of Financial Instruments: Hedge Accounting – Hedging instruments scheduled for Thursday has been removed from the agenda. At the same time an additional IASB meeting has been announced for 27 October 2010. The topic to be discussed is Financial Instruments: Hedge Accounting.

This newsletter describes the recently published amendments to IFRS 7 that increase the disclosure requirements for transactions involving transfers of financial assets. These amendments are intended to provide greater transparency around risk exposures of transactions where a financial asset is transferred but the transferor retains some level of continuing involvement in the asset.

Click for:

• IFRS in Focus Newsletter – IASB amends disclosures about transfers of financial assets (PDF 139k)
• Past editions of IFRS in Focus
• Summary of IFRS 7 on IAS Plus

 

ISAR's annual sessions regularly involve over 300 delegates from more than 100 countries.

The key outcomes from the session include:

• Capacity-building framework for high-quality corporate reporting. The Group of Experts further underscored the need for high-quality corporate reports to facilitate the mobilisation of domestic and international financial resources and to foster investors' confidence. The paper considered at the meeting highlights IFRS (and the IFRS for SMEs and International Public Sector Accounting Standards) as key planks in this framework.
• Climate change-related corporate reporting. The Group of Experts recognised that a harmonised approach to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosure is necessary to improve high-quality corporate reporting to policymakers, investors and other stakeholders and as such also to facilitate low-carbon policies such as, inter alia, "cap-and-trade" systems and carbon taxes.
• Corporate governance disclosures. The Group of Experts reiterated the importance of corporate governance disclosure for attracting investment and promoting sustainable and stable economic growth. ISAR recognised that high-quality disclosure in this area adds value for policymakers, shareholders and other stakeholders (see also our earlier story).

Click for Agreed conclusions from the session (link to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development website).

ISO 10668:2010 specifies a high-level framework for brand valuation, including objectives, bases of valuation, approaches to valuation, methods of valuation and sourcing of quality data and assumptions. It also specifies methods for reporting the results of such valuations. As a high-level and wide-scope document, it does provides general guidance only and is considered to be largely consistent with existing valuation practice.

The standard may be Downloaded from ISO's website.