The Ride to Going Global

The move to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is proceeding at full throttle. In November 2007, the SEC eliminated the requirement for non-US companies to reconcile their financial statements with US GAAP as long as they use IFRS as adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Many observers expect that as more companies outside the US use IFRS, US companies will feel added pressure to adopt IFRS to remain competitive in an increasingly global capital marketplace. (Read the CPA Journal article The Ride to Going Global: Slow Down for the Bumps.)

SEC Roundtable on Performance of IFRS and US GAAP

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it will host a roundtable on Monday, August 4, 2008 to analyze the performance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) during the recent period of market turmoil. The roundtable will consist of two panels that will include investors, issuers, auditors and various other parties with experience in financial reporting. Additionally, representatives from the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board will be present as observers. (Read the SEC Press Release.)

Countdown - Deloitte Canada’s IFRS transition newsletter

Deloitte Canada has issued the July 2008 issue of the Countdown IFRS transition newsletter. Among the topics covered are the Canadian Securities Administrators' release of additional guidance relating to early adoption of IFRS; the release of the IASB revised work plan and implications for Canadian companies; and how to cope with the changeover to IFRS. There is also an update on current IFRS events.

IFRIC Update – July 2008

Periodically, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) publishes newsletters on its activities. The IFRIC Update is published as a convenience to the IASB’s constituents. The reported conclusions are tentative and may be changed or modified at future IFRIC meetings.

IASC Foundation - Constitution Review

The Trustees of the IASC Foundation have published a discussion document that contains proposals dealt with in the first phase of the organisation's five-yearly Constitution Review. The deadline for public comment is September 20, 2008. (View the Press Release and the discussion document Review of the Constitution: Public Accountability and the Composition of the IASB - Proposals for Change.

IFRS North America 2008 Conference - presentation materials

The IFRS North America Conference was held in April 2008 at Toronto, Canada. The presentation materials from the conference, broken down by date and special interest sessions, are available online. (View the PowerPoint presentations.)

SEC Announces "21st Century Disclosure"

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced an ambitious effort to examine fundamental questions about the way it acquires information from public companies, mutual funds, brokers, and other regulated entities, and the way it makes that information available to investors and the markets. The study will review all existing SEC reporting requirements, with a special focus on needless redundancy. It will also consider ways to get the best real-time distribution of financial and narrative disclosure to investors. Finally, the study will examine how best to integrate public disclosure with the SEC's proposed new post-EDGAR architecture for investor search, assembly, and comparison of data. (View the SEC Press Release.)

SEC Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting will meet on July 11, 2008. It is slated to vote on the recommendations contained in the Draft Final Report. According to its charter, the committee will terminate on August 2, 2008. (View the Agenda for the meeting and the Project webpage.)

Canadian companies may elect early IFRS adoption

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) represent Canada's provincial and territorial securities regulators. The CSA have issued staff views on possible changes to securities rules relating to Canada's transition to IFRS for publicly accountable entities in 2011. The CSA Staff Notice is No. 52-321, Early Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, Use of US GAAP, and Reference to IFRS-IASB.

IASB Update – June 2008

Periodically, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) publishes a newsletter on its activities. The IASB Update is published as a convenience to the IASB’s constituents. The reported conclusions are tentative and may be changed or modified at future IASB meetings.

IFRS and IAS summaries at January 1, 2008

The IASB publishes standards in a series of pronouncements called International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). It has also adopted the body of standards issued by the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). Those pronouncements continue to be designated "International Accounting Standards" (IAS). Summaries of IFRS, IAS and related Interpretations at January 1, 2008 are available at the IASB website.