Canada - decision on fair value and impairment of debt securities

Canada's Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) confirmed, following a special meeting, that the recent US guidance on determining the fair value of financial instruments is consistent with Canadian standards. The guidance deals with determining whether a market is inactive and whether a transaction is a distressed sale. The AcSB also decided to revise its standards on impairment of debt instruments to converge with international standards. It strongly supports the work of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to develop a new international standard on measurement and recognition of financial instruments. (Read the Accounting Standards Board Media Release.)