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Mastering the new financial lingua franca

22 Dec 2009

Deloitte's Global Center for Corporate Governance has published the second annual edition of its year-end Directors' Alert.

Entitled Survival or Success: 10 Issues for 2010, the report represents a collaboration among the governance teams from 11 Deloitte member firms. It describes 10 key issues for boardrooms to consider in the New Year. Click to download Directors' Alert: 10 Issues for 2010 (PDF 244k). One of those key issues is mastering the new financial lingua franca – the linga franca being, of course, Internatonal Financial Reporting Standards.

The question for many boards is: how well do they 'speak' the new financial lingua franca? Mastering IFRS, just like learning a new language, poses a number of challenges:

  • Does the board understand all of IFRS' subtleties? Board members may understand the individual 'words' and concepts but still not interpret them as intended.
  • Is the board practicing the new language? Directors may study the new standards but if they continue applying the old financial reporting standards while believing that all accounting frameworks are similar, their transition to IFRS will not become a reality.
  • Are we making IFRS easier to apply by making greater use of them? When everybody – the board, management and other stakeholders – all 'talk' in terms of the new standards, their application will be quicker and more effective.
  • Do we think directly in terms of IFRS or just how they differ from the old standards? Shifting conversations to focus solely on IFRS forces people to leave their comfort zones, but it may also make for a much more efficient transition.
Directors who oversee financial reporting must familiarise themselves with the new accounting framework as soon as possible. Audit committee members have an additional concern: many jurisdictions require them to be 'financially literate', which will mean being literate in an IFRS world. It is likely that many directors will need to upgrade their skills under an IFRS regime. This Alert suggests some steps directors can take take to help master the language of IFRS.

 

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Deloitte Canada IFRS transition newsletters

22 Dec 2009

Deloitte Canada has published the December 2009 issue of their Countdown IFRS transition newsletter, to discuss practical issues Canadian companies are facing in IFRS transition as well as to provide an update on recent IFRS events.

Articles in this issue include:
  • IFRS in Canada – 2009 the year in review
  • 'The Real Deal' – a recap and review of the real issues and solutions on IFRS transition progress made throughout the year
  • Interim financial statements in the year of adoption of IFRS
  • Final accounting standards for private enterprises released
  • Deloitte publications and events and how to access them
  • An update on current IFRS events – including various important EDs and discussion papers
Click below for: Related items:
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Issue 2 of Deloitte Southeast Asia newsletter

22 Dec 2009

The Deloitte Southeast Asia (SEA) Assurance & Advisory Services Group has published the second issue of its Point of View newsletter.

The newsletter is a collaborative effort among the Deloitte member firms operating in Brunei, Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It brings together recent updates on financial reporting developments both internationally and within the region. This issue covers:
  • Implementation of FRS 139 in Malaysia
  • News in brief on IFRS activities August to November 2009
  • Country updates on accounting standards in Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam
Click to download Point of View Newsletter Issue No 2 (PDF 278k).

 

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IASB special meeting 5 Jan 2010

21 Dec 2009

The IASB and FASB will hold a joint meeting Tuesday 5 January 2010, from 12:00 to 16:00pm London time, to discuss the Insurance Contracts and Leases projects.

The meeting will cover papers distributed for the December 2009 IASB/FASB meeting which were not discussed at that meeting (Leases paper 4D and Insurance Contracts Papers 7 to 7F). The meeting is open to public observation and will be webcast.

 

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We disagree with IFRIC's draft decision on contingent settlements

20 Dec 2009

In a letter to IFRIC, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu disagree with the IFRIC's tentative decision not to take onto the IFRIC's agenda a request for an interpretation on the application of IFRS 2 Share-based Payment to transactions in which the manner of settlement is contingent of future events.

We believe that the IFRIC should use its mandate enlarged by the IASB and propose guidance on treatment of IFRS 2 transactions in which the manner of settlement is contingent on future events as part of the annual improvements process. We believe that the issue is sufficiently narrow in scope to be addressed within the remits of the annual improvements process rather than as part of a post-implementation review of IFRS 2: that might delay addressing the issue by several years. Click for our Letter to IFRIC (PDF 26k).

 

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We comment on proposed IFRS 7 exemption

20 Dec 2009

Deloitte has submitted a comment letter on Exposure Draft ED/2009/13 Limited Exemption from Comparative IFRS 7 Disclosures for First-time Adopters.

The ED proposes to amend IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of IFRSs to state that an entity need not provide the comparative prior-period information required by the March 2009 amendments to IFRS 7 Improving Disclosures about Financial Instruments for first-time adopters adopting before 1 January 2010. We support the amendments proposed in the Exposure Draft. However, the need for this amendment raises a concern about the Board's haste in its due process (see box below). Click to Download our Comment Letter (PDF 17k). 

We would also like to highlight the fact that in our view the Exposure Draft suggests a lack of rigor taken by the Board in preparing the original consequential amendments to IFRSs made necessary by the amendment to IFRS 7 issued in March 2009. We continue to be concerned that the combined effect of ambitious deadlines, shortened periods for comments and deliberations, as well as the heavy workload on the Board's agenda means that this and potentially other consequential amendments fail to be identified at the appropriate time, resulting in precious Board time being spent fixing problems that could have been identified had greater attention to such matters been paid originally.

 

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IASB seeks views on FV from emerging economies

20 Dec 2009

Some of the comment letters received on the IASB's May 2009 Exposure Draft (ED) Fair Value Measurement indicated that entities in emerging and transition economies might find it difficult to apply the principles in the ED in practice.

The IASB has decided it needs more information about this. Therefore, on its website, the IASB has invited its constituents to submit:

"examples or case studies of transactions or situations specific to your jurisdiction that would make the fair value measurement guidance as proposed in the exposure draft unpractical. After reviewing the input we receive, the Board will consider either (a) amending the proposals in the exposure draft for the final IFRS if they are found to be inadequate in some situations or (b) publishing educational material to address the practical application of the fair value measurement principles (or a combination of both). This educational material would seek to address the concerns that we have identified through our outreach activities and how they relate to the fair value measurement guidance in the forthcoming IFRS."

The examples should be sent by email to fvm@iasb.org by 31 January 2010. Click for more information on IASB's Website.

 

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Notes from December 2009 IASB meeting day 4

19 Dec 2009

The IASB held its December 2009 monthly Board meeting at its offices in London on Tuesday to Friday, 15-18 December 2009. The portion of the meeting on 16-17 December will be a joint meeting with the US Financial Accounting Standards Board.

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

 

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Heads Up on AICPA SEC-PCAOB conference

19 Dec 2009

Annually, the AICPA hosts a conference featuring speeches by, and question-and-answer sessions with, members of the SEC, PCAOB, FASB, IASB, and professionals from various industries. Deloitte United States has published a 47-page Heads Up Newsletter that extracts key insights from nearly 26 hours of material presented during this year's AICPA National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments held on 7 to 9 December.

In our IAS Plus News Story of 14 Dec 2009 we posted hyperlinks to each of the presentations. Here is an excerpt from the opening paragraph of the Heads Up:

If you are like many of us observing the actions of the SEC, you are wondering what date the Commission will set (and whether it will set a date at all) for public companies in the United States to make the switch from US GAAP to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). Well, if you are reading this publication for clues about that magical date, you will be disappointed. At this year's conference, the SEC did not provide much information on a new IFRS roadmap. However, the SEC and other presenters had a lot to say on a host of other topics. In the Executive Summary below, we cover the major themes discussed at the conference; later sections outline speeches in more detail by subject matter.

 

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