International Accounting Standards Board: Developments in IFRS

IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst is joined by Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd and Education Director Matt Tilling to provide an update on the most recent IASB meeting and other developments. Projects raised in this podcast include Primary Financial Statements, Disclosure Initiative, Business Combinations under Common Control, Rate-regulated Activities, and Goodwill and Impairment.

The Transition Resource Group for IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts (TRG) held a meeting on 2 May 2018 at the London office of the IFRS Foundation. This podcast summarises the discussion.

Hans Hoogervorst and Sue Lloyd, Chair and Vice-Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (Board), provide an update on the April meeting of the Board and other recent developments. Hans gives a summary of what’s new in the revised Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, which was issued at the end of March. He also covers the Board’s discussions about the projects on Primary Financial Statements and Goodwill and Impairment. Sue summarises the discussion on the definition of ‘material’, which focused on the feedback received to the consultation on proposed amendments that was published last year, and updates on the work to develop an accounting model for business combinations between companies that are owned by the same parent company.

In the latest IASB podcast, Sue Lloyd talks disclosures and dynamic risk management and Darrel Scott discusses rate-regulation and management commentary, and the outcomes of recent key stakeholder group meetings. Other topics covered include the latest discussions about the work following post-implementation reviews of IFRS 13 and IFRS 8.

In the first meeting podcast of the IFRS Advisory Council, Advisory Council Chair Joanna Perry joins Director of Education Matt Tilling to discuss the role of the advisory body and how its suggestions are addressed by the International Accounting Standards Board, as well as other developments.

The IFRS Foundation’s Education Director Matt Tilling is joined by Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board (Board) Hans Hoogervorst and Board member Darrel Scott to provide a summary of the Board’s February 2018 meeting as well as other key developments. Topics discussed include: disclosures, rate-regulation, IFRS 17 implementation, cash flows, management performance measures and business combinations under common control.

Board member Darrel Scott joins staff member Hagit Keren to talk about the first technical meeting of the TRG. Topics discussed include: separation of insurance components, contract boundary, insurance acquisition cash flows, coverage units and other submissions received.

In the first podcast of 2018, Chair Hans Hoogervorst summarises the Board's discussions on the Primary Financial Statements project and reports on the progress of the Conceptual Framework. Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd provides an update on the Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity (FICE) project and the two further issues brought to the Board table from the IFRS Interpretations Committee this month. Also discussed: Feedback from the IFRS 13 Post-implementation Review and the Board’s ongoing discussions about goodwill and impairment.

Chairman Hans Hoogervorst and Board member Amaro Gomes join Education Director Matt Tilling to talk about the latest Board discussions and take a look back at the highlights of 2017.

Hans Hoogervorst, Nick Anderson and Ann Tarca of the International Accounting Standards Board are joined by Education Director Matt Tilling to discuss recent events, such as the meeting of the IFRS Foundation Trustees in Brazil. They also discuss a new project added to the work plan, two possible approaches to accounting for dynamic risk management, how potential changes to IFRS 8 stem from the post-implementation review of the Standard, and how primary financial statements fit into a larger initiative—Better Communication in Financial Reporting.

Board member Darrel Scott joins staff member Hagit Keren to talk about the first administrative meeting of the TRG. Topics discussed include: the purpose of the TRG, introduction to TRG members, process for submitting questions and future meetings.

Hans and Sue discuss events including the World Standard-setters Conference and meetings of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum and the IFRS Advisory Council. They also discuss how the Board may improve the impairment model for goodwill and simplify the impairment testing that companies are required to do. They describe how the work on goodwill sprung out of the Post-implementation Review of the business combinations Standard, IFRS 3, and reflect on why goodwill and impairment is such a hot topic. Other projects discussed include the Conceptual Framework and current implementation issues.

Hans Hoogervorst and Sue Lloyd introduce new Board members and talk about the recently issued Materiality Practice Statement. They also provides updates on the Primary Financial Statements project, rate-regulated activities, business combinations under common control and dynamic risk management. There are further updates on the Conceptual Framework and current IFRS Interpretations Committee projects.

Hans and Sue provide an update on the latest developments on IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts, including the Financial Stability Board’s statement on the Standard. They also talk about some of the materials the IFRS Foundation is making available to help companies prepare for the implementation of the Standard and provide an overview of investor feedback on the new accounting requirements. Sue also talks about the Board’s lively discussion about the Materiality Practice Statement, the Board’s plans to issue a minor amendment to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. Hans summarises the education sessions on goodwill and impairment and rate-regulated activities.

Hans talks about the role conferences play in helping stakeholders implement new Standards. He also provides an overview of the Board’s June discussion on the Primary Financial Statement project and the potential introduction of new subtotals in the statement(s) of financial performance. Sue provides an overview of some of the Board’s implementation discussions, which included a potential amendment to IAS 8 regarding voluntary changes in accounting policies and the accounting for those. She also talks about the latest developments on the proposed minor amendments to IFRS 9 in relation to prepayable financial assets with so-called negative compensation.

In this podcast, Sue provides an overview of implementation and maintenance activities discussed at the May Board meeting – including the IFRIC Interpretation on IAS 12 Income Taxes and an upcoming amendment to IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures. She also talks about the ongoing Post-implementation Review of IFRS 13, the fair value measurement Standard. Darrel provides an overview of IFRS 17, which was issued in May, before Sue summarises some of the other activity during the month – including the activities during the Trustees meeting in Tokyo, Japan, and a new agreement the IFRS Foundation has signed with the World Bank.

Sue provides an update on the Board’s most recent discussions on its Rate-regulated Activities project. Hans summarises the Board’s discussions on the definition of a business and the proposed screening test. Also discussed are some of the implementation issues that have been referred to the Board by the IFRS Interpretations Committee and two education sessions.

Wider corporate reporting: Hans explains that the Board discussed the possibility of undertaking some work in this area that may entail updating the Practice Statement on Management Commentary; Primary Financial Statements: Hans outlines the call from investors for more line items and subtotals, and gives an overview of the scope of this project; and Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity: Sue explains what the Gamma approach is and that the Board expects to publish a Discussion Paper later this year.

Feedback on the recent consultation on proposed changes to the definition of a business (IFRS 3); the Board’s discussions on how to account for rate-regulated activities; the comment period for the forthcoming proposed narrow-scope amendment to IFRS 9 regarding contracts with symmetric prepayment options; and the February ‘sweep issues discussion’ on the new insurance contracts Standard, following an external review of the draft Standard to ensure the wording is clear.

Among the topics discussed are the upcoming insurance contracts Standard, the planned Post-Implementation Review of IFRS 13 (the fair value Standard), and the Board’s planned narrow-scope amendment to IFRS 9, the financial instruments Standard.