Doesn’t time fly! It is almost a year since my last posting on the subject of IFRS adoption in the US. You may recall that the SEC had just released for comment its long-awaited proposed roadmap, and moves towards IFRS adoption seemed to be gathering pace.
Around 220 comment letters [...]
In a previous posting, I commented on the IASCF’s proposals to make the IASB more accountable – for example, by requiring the Board to consult with the Trustees and the Standards Advisory Council (SAC) on agenda decisions. Although still a proposal and not yet part of the Constitution, as [...]
It feels like a long time (approaching two years) since my posting on the subject of the IASB’s revised business combinations standard. It was probably the most controversial accounting topic of its day; but now, of course, the debate has moved on, and subjects such as fair value and [...]
Consider the stakeholders, be more open about agenda-setting, accelerate the Board’s due process – these are some of the key recommendations arising from the IASCF’s consultation exercise aimed at improving the IASB’s accountability.
The points raised in the consultation paper, published on 9 September as part of the IASCF’s [...]
After 10 years of debate, discussion, and backroom musing, last month the IASB published its initial proposals on financial reporting for mining and oil & gas companies. Well, sort of. The IASB seems to be hedging its bets: it took an unusual step of issuing a draft discussion paper – [...]
Many companies with December year ends have by now completed their half-year reporting cycle and are more familiar with the new presentation requirements introduced in IAS 1 (Revised). In many cases, the changes have been cosmetic – an extra line item here and an additional disclosure there – but we [...]
Since my previous posting, the IASB has published another two exposure drafts with a reduced comment period. My colleagues specialising in accounting for financial instruments currently have on their desks six different and important consultations. So it seems rather timely that the international advisory group set up by the IASB [...]
Here in the northern hemisphere we are now well into summer, and many of you may be looking forward to a well-earned holiday. If you cannot quite get into the holiday mood and are still thinking of what to pack as holiday reading, the IASB has provided us with a [...]
If I was to report that my company’s net income for 2008 was 100, it would not tell you very much. If I add that net income has increased by 3%, you start to learn a little more. If I now give you a complete set of financial statements, you [...]
Few subjects stimulate as much debate in accounting as fair value measurement. It has been blamed for many things over the past few years, including contributing to the credit crisis. The IASB and the FASB have committed to a joint response, and they have both issued discussion documents over the [...]
One of the conclusions reached by the G20 leaders at their summits in Washington DC last November and in London at the beginning of April was that the accounting standards for financial instruments are too complicated. They called for the standard setters to take action by the end of 2009 [...]
It was over a year ago that I talked about the standards that will be effective for 2009 financial statements. The list of standards has not changed since then, but as management of many companies are starting to think about preparing their 2009 interim reports, now is a [...]
Deferred tax is one of the least understood items on balance sheets. Its accounting is widely criticised as being too theoretical, too complex and not representing the economic effect of future tax cash flows. Some even argue that deferred tax is not a liability.
These criticisms might suggest that the IASB [...]
A few weeks have passed since the release of the IASB’s leasing discussion paper
. Thankfully, Sir David Tweedie’s stark warning back in 2004 ("There could be blood all over the streets") has not transpired, although there is already disquiet in certain quarters, such as LeaseEurope. Certainly there is nothing [...]
In the next few months, the IASB is due to release its final standard for SMEs (or ‘private entities’ or ‘non-publically accountable entities’ – all these names have been used by the Board during the development of the standard). It was once widely considered an impossible task to deliver a [...]
In times of economic distress, there is greater focus on cash. This seems rather obvious. So it should be no surprise that I am returning to the subject of cash flow after my previous posting on net debt.
One of the higher profile proposals in the IASB and FASB [...]
In a previous posting last May, we took a quick look at how the global revenue project was shaping up. I also boldly predicted that there would be a discussion paper issued on the topic ‘within the next few weeks’.
Well, so much for that prediction, but we did get [...]
Valuing defined benefit pension obligations is seldom easy. For several years, actuaries have been debating for how long people will live – longer and longer, it turns out. But the good news that we are going to live longer than we thought comes with a sting in the tail: our [...]
Last July, in my posting "Power to the few", I touched on a subject that, on the face of it, few people would get excited about. But it goes to the heart of some of the issues now being debated not only by the profession but public policymakers, namely the [...]
As we enter 2009, this seems a good opportunity to reflect on the year that has just ended. I could talk, for example, about the economic climate or, on a happier note, the Beijing Olympics. But this is an IFRS blog so I ought to focus on financial reporting matters.
2008 [...]
Sometimes, in business, cash needs to be on the table before a deal can be done. In the film Jerry Maguire, the client’s nervousness was illustrated by his repeated call to ‘Show me the money’. It is fair to say that we are currently living in nervous times and, inevitably, [...]
What do you know about XBRL? Many financial executives may have first heard of it a few years ago but dismissed it as something more relevant to their IT-savvy colleagues. So what is it and why should you care?
XBRL (or Extensible Business Reporting Language) is a standardised, international internet ‘language’ [...]
The past few months have represented a tumultuous chapter in the history of IFRS reporting. Criticisms of the IASB have come from all directions, and there has been some concern that IFRS’s future as the single global accounting language might be in doubt. Although the SEC voted in August to [...]
Doesn’t time fly! I have noticed that it is almost a year since my last posting on the subject of performance reporting. Towards the end of 2007, performance reporting and earnings measures were the hot topics. At the time, we were anticipating a discussion paper on financial statement presentation and [...]
In my previous posting, I talked about progress in the US towards acceptance of IFRS as a primary reporting framework. I referred to hints that we might see an announcement from the SEC on this matter by 21 September. Well it seems that the ball is not just rolling but [...]
Indications from colleagues across the pond are that the US is really gearing up for IFRS. I hear that our clients over there are keen to know what a move to IFRS involves and many are thinking seriously about preparing themselves for what they see as an inevitable transition.
It doesn’t [...]
Here in the northern hemisphere we are now well into summer and many of you may be looking forward to a well-earned holiday. If you cannot quite get into the holiday mood and are still thinking of what to pack as holiday reading, the important IASB consultations on simplifying accounting [...]
The European media has recently been rather interested in constitutional reform. In a referendum on 12 June, the Irish electorate voted against ratification of the Lisbon Treaty – a proposed European constitution. Despite only 53% of the Irish electorate voting in the referendum, the result may yet have significant implications. [...]
