Reporting Implications of New Auditing and Accounting Standards, August 2011

There are a number of significant changes taking place to accounting and auditing standards in Canada. The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) recognizes that these changes may have an impact on the form and content of practitioners’ reports. Therefore, the AASB formed a Task Force to develop guidance that will address complex reporting issues that may arise during this period of change with a view to promoting consistency in reporting.

This Guide presents a series of issues in Question and Answer format. It also presents a series of Illustrative Reports. These are designed to help practitioners understand and apply requirements and supporting guidance issued by the AASB relating to reporting. Practitioners are expected to use professional judgment in determining whether the material in this Guide is both appropriate and relevant to the circumstances of each audit engagement.

(Read the Guide, Reporting Implications of New Auditing and Accounting Standards, Issue No. 5 — August 2011.)

CICA conference explores post-transition issues

Now that IFRS is Canadian GAAP for most publicly-accountable enterprises, organizations with December 31 year-ends have already filed their first interim reports. There are experiences to learn from regarding the application of IFRS and the impact of new financial reporting frameworks on organizations.

IFRS and the new world of global accounting standards will be a continuous journey of learning. Issues such as how far to go with Canadian guidance, while still being true to the commitment to adopt IFRS without country- specific interpretations, will be a constant challenge. And, there will always be the need to keep up –to-date technically on new and proposed standards as they emerge.

Many of these important issues will be the subject of discussion and debate at CICA’s first post-transition Financial Reporting and Accounting Conference (FRAC), which runs September 26 to 28, 2011, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto. The robust agenda of this year’s conference includes a CFO panel discussion on lessons learned from their organizations’ transition, another panel discussion entitled IFRS — Walking the Tightrope between Canadian Guidance and Interpretation — How Far Can We Go? and a third on the application and implications of the New World of Fair Value Measurement. The conference also includes several technical IFRS updates, including revenue recognition, leases, joint arrangements and consolidations, and post-employment benefits.