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Agenda for 4-5 March 2010 IFRIC meeting

26 Feb 2010

The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) will meet at the IASB's offices in London on Thursday and Friday 4 and 5 March 2010 (morning only on 5 March).

The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast. The tentative agenda is shown below.

Agenda for the IFRIC Meeting

Thursday and Friday, 4 and 5 March 2010

Thursday 4 March 2010 (10:00-18:00h London time)

  • Introduction
  • IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment – Accounting for production phase stripping costs in the mining industry
  • IFRS 2 Share-based Payment – Vesting and non-vesting conditions
  • Review of Tentative Agenda Decisions published in January 2010 IFRIC Update
    • IAS 21 The Effects of changes in Foreign Exchange Rates – Determination of functional currency of investment holding company
    • IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation – Debt/equity classification of instruments with obligation to deliver cash at the discretion of shareholders
    • IAS 36 Impairment of Assets – Transition provisions for IFRS 8 amendment
    • IAS 39 Financial Instruments Recognition and Measurement – Unit of account for forward contracts with volumetric optionality
  • Annual Improvements – 2008-2010 Cycle
    • Comment analysis for minor issues:
      • Accounting policy changes in the year of adoption (IFRS 1)
      • Clarification of statement of changes in equity (IAS 1)
      • Transition requirements for amendments made as a result of IAS 27R to IAS 21, IAS 28 and IAS 31
      • Fair value of award credit (IFRIC 13)
      • Accounting policy changes in the year of adoption (IFRS 1)
      • Clarification of statement of changes in equity (IAS 1)
      • Transition requirements for amendments made as a result of IAS 27R to IAS 21, IAS 28 and IAS 31
      • Fair value of award credit (IFRIC 13)
    • IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Unreplaced and voluntarily replaced share-based payment awards (comment letter analysis)
    • IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Measurement of NCI (review of examples)
    • IFRS 5 Non.current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations – Loss of significant influence over an associate or jointly controlled entity (comment letter analysis)
    • IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors – Change in terminology to the qualitative characteristics
    • IAS 40 Investment Property – Change from fair value model to cost model
  • Staff Recommendations for Tentative Agenda Decision
    • IFRS 1 First-time adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards – Accounting for costs included in self-constructed assets on transition
    • IFRS 5 Non.current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations – Reversal of impairment losses relating to goodwill
    • IAS 12 Income Taxes – Tax effect of distributions to equity holders
    • IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements – Comparative information

Friday 5 March (09:00-12:30h London time)

 

  • Staff Recommendations for Tentative Agenda Decision (continued from Thursday, if needed)
  • Annual Improvements 2009 – 2011 Cycle
    • IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards – Hard wire dates
    • IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Contingent consideration and first-time adoption
    • IFRS 8 Operating Segments – Determination of scope
    • IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates – Repayment of investment/CTA
    • IAS 26 Accounting and Reporting by Retirement Benefit Plans – Valuation of plan assets
    • IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting – Consistency in disclosure of total segment assets
  • Administrative Session – IFRIC work in progress

 

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IFRS e-Learning in Spanish

26 Feb 2010

Several new modules have been added to Deloitte's Spanish Language IFRS e-Learning Site.

Currently, the following modules are available in Spanish for download without charge. They are:
  • Conceptual Framework (Marco Conceptual para la Preparación y Presentación de Estados Financieros)
  • IAS (NIC) 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 28, 29, 31, 38, 40, 41
  • IFRS (NIIF) 1, 5
Further Spanish language modules are in development and will be released to the site over forthcoming months. Click to view Deloitte's Spanish Language IFRS e-Learning site.

 

 

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Deloitte IFRS University Consortium

26 Feb 2010

To assist accounting educators, Deloitte (United States) has created an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) University Consortium.

On the Consortium's Website, you will find a library of resources and complete, classroom-ready IFRS course materials, including slide decks from Deloitte subject matter leaders, and a series of case studies recently used as part of a graduate level accounting course. Click for a Brief Description (PDF 185k).

 

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Agenda for special IASB and IASB-FASB meetings

26 Feb 2010

The IASB and FASB will hold special joint meetings on 3 March 2010 and 11 March 2010, in advance of their regular monthly meeting on 15-19 March 2010. At both the 3 March special meeting, the IASB will also discuss several of its agenda projects separately from FASB.

You can access the agenda on our 3 March 2010 and 11 March 2010 special joint meeting pages. We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available
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AICPA statement on SEC IFRS work plan

26 Feb 2010

The American Institute of CPAs has issued a Statement on the Securities and Exchange Commission's Commission's Endorsement of a Plan to work toward incorporation of IFRSs in the US financial reporting system.

The AICPA statement says:

The AICPA believes that it is critical for the SEC to set a date certain for use of IFRS in the U.S. and we urge the commission, as it completes this work plan in 2011, to ensure investor confidence is maintained and key milestones lead successfully to global standards in 2015.

Click to view the AICPA statement on the SEC IFRS work plan.

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Audit Committee Brief – SEC focus areas

25 Feb 2010

Deloitte (United States) has published an Audit Committee Brief newsletter on SEC Focus Areas.

The newsletter notes that audit committee members should be aware of the following recent topics and trends in SEC comment letters and public remarks by SEC staff members:
  • Management discussion and analysis (MD&A)
  • Goodwill impairment testing
  • Deferred tax valuation allowances and the repatriation of foreign earnings
  • Fair value
  • Debt
  • Other-than-temporary impairments (OTTI) of investment securities
  • Pensions
  • Executive compensation
Click to view the Audit Committee Brief (PDF 116k).

 

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Sierra Leone adopts the IFRS for SMEs

25 Feb 2010

On 30 December 2009, the Council for Standards of Accounting, Auditing, Corporate and Institutional Governance (CSAAG) of Sierra Leone unanimously passed a resolution adopting the IFRS for SMEs for profit-seeking entities that fall outside its conditions for the application of full IFRSs.

The IFRS for SMEs is voluntary (that is, permitted) for reporting periods commencing 1 January 2010 and is mandatory (required) for reporting periods commencing 1 January 2011. Listed companies, banks, insurance companies, and other statutorily recognised financial institutions are required to apply the full IFRSs as issued by the IASB.

 

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Special IASB meetings 3 and 11 March 2010

25 Feb 2010

The IASB and FASB will hold special joint Board meetings at the offices of the IASB in London as follows (agendas and timings to be announced):

  • Wednesday 3 March 2010
  • Thursday 11 March 2010
The special IASB meeting that had been tentatively announced for Wednesday 2 March 2010 will not be held.

 

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SEC statement on IFRSs in the United States

25 Feb 2010

The US Securities and Exchange Commission met on 24 February 2010 to discuss issues relating to the use of IFRSs by public companies in the United States.

The Commission approved a 71-page Commission Statement (PDF 349k) that provides an overview of the Commission's IFRS activities, summarises some of the public feedback on the proposed IFRS roadmap, and outlines an approach going forward. The Commission reiterated its support for a single set of high quality global accounting standards and said that IFRSs are the set of standards best positioned to be global standards. The Commission Statement directs the SEC staff to carry out a Work Plan prior to an SEC decision on whether to require US issuers to transition to IFRSs. According to the Commission Statement, that decision will be made in 2011. The execution of the Work Plan, combined with the completion of the convergence efforts, would position the Commission to make an informed decision on a mandate. The Commission Statement withdraws the early use option that was in the proposed roadmap. However, it was indicated that early use is still a viable option if the SEC decides to require the use of IFRSs. The Commission Statement does not provide any details of potential transition dates or approaches, but the SEC staff stated that 2015 or 2016 seemed reasonable based on comments received on the proposed roadmap (a transition would require four to five years).

The key areas of concern to be addressed by the SEC staff as part of the work plan include:

  • Sufficient development and application of IFRSs globally – comprehensiveness of IFRSs, auditability and enforceability of IFRSs, and comparability across jurisdictions
  • Independence of standard-setting – oversight of the IASCF, composition of Trustees and IASB, funding, and the standard-setting process
  • Transition issues:
    • Investor understanding and education – education of investors
    • Impact on regulatory environment – industry regulation, federal and state taxes, and audit regulation
    • Impact on issuers – accounting systems, controls and procedures, contractual arrangements, and corporate governance
    • Human capital readiness – education and training of various constituency groups

In her Opening Remarks (PDF 30k) at the Commission meeting, SEC Chairman Mary L Schapiro summarised the SEC's approach as follows:

Today's Commission statement reaffirms our support for a single globally accepted standard, describes the issues that need to be further examined and analyzed, and lays out the events that must occur between now and 2011. Specifically, the convergence projects currently underway between the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board, must first be successfully completed. And our staff must gather information to aid the Commission as it evaluates the impact that the use of IFRS by US companies would have on our securities market. To this end, we have asked the staff to develop and execute a work plan, which the staff will discuss in more depth in a moment.

In 2011, upon conclusion of the fact-gathering and analysis set forth in the work plan – and assuming completion of the convergence projects – the Commission will then be in a position to determine whether to incorporate IFRS into the financial reporting system for U.S. public companies. Until that time, we will expect staff to provide periodic written public reports to the Commission on the progress of its efforts.

The Commission expressed support for the FASB having a continuing role in global standard-setting activities and asked the SEC staff to further explore this possibility as part of its Work Plan. The SEC staff will be providing regular progress reports in open meetings and indicated the first one will be provided no later than October 2010.

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IFRS for SMEs in Mauritius

24 Feb 2010

In December, we reported a proposal in Mauritius to amend the accounting requirements to permit the IFRS for SMEs as an option for small state-owned enterprises.

That law (Finance Bill 2009) has now been enacted by Parliament. Therefore, the accounting standards structure in Mauritius is now as follows:
  1. Listed companies use full IFRSs.
  2. State owned enterprises with revenue over 50 million rupees (about US$1.7 million) use full IFRSs.
  3. Some state owned enterprises with a turnover 50 million rupees or less will have the choice between full IFRS and IFRS for SMEs.
  4. The remaining state owned enterprises with revenue 50 million rupees or less can choose IFRS for SMEs or the Financial Reporting Framework and Standards issued under section 72 of the Financial Reporting Act. Such standards are being developed by the Financial Reporting Council of Mauritius (a proposal was published in September 2009).
  5. Companies in Mauritius that are not state owned enterprises and that have turnover greater than 50 million rupees must use full IFRSs.
  6. Companies in Mauritius that are not state owned enterprises and that have turnover 50 million rupees or less are exempted from preparing financial statements but must prepare a schedule of financial information (a summarised balance sheet and profit or loss account without notes).
Furthermore, there is currently a consultation on a proposal to extend the option to use the IFRS for SMEs to all non-state-owned companies with turnover greater than 50 million rupees but less than 200 million rupees. This will expand the scope of the IFRS for SMEs to the majority of companies based in Mauritius that are required to prepare financial statements.

 

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