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SUMMARY OF IASC FOUNDATION TRUSTEES MEETING - JULY 2007 |
| Source: | IASC Foundation | | Country: | International | | Date: | 19/07/2007 | | Contributor: | Andy Lymer | | Web: | http://www.iasb.org |
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Summary of the IASC Foundation Trustees meeting
2 and 3 July 2007, Madrid
Highlights
- Progress towards convergence with and adoption of IFRSs in major economies is continuing;
- India considering adoption of IFRSs by 2011; Korea established IFRS adoption roadmap; convergence efforts with Japanese standard-setter continue;
IFRS-related efforts in Brazil accelerate;
- US SEC proposes removal of the requirement to reconcile IFRS financial
reports to US GAAP for foreign registrants, will publish concept release to
consider IFRS reporting for US domestic issuers
- Trustees announce further enhancements to oversight and due process—
- A review of issues identified as contentious as part of the consultation process related to all new IFRSs (including IFRS 8), major amendments to IFRSs and major IFRIC Interpretations two years after their implementation
- Continued development of a framework for feedback statements and impact
assessments
- Additional arrangements for the Trustees and the IASB jointly to keep the
work programme under review
- Progress made with fundraising approaching £16 million goal for 2008, continued exploration of options for long-term funding
- Trustees approve plans to enhance quality control systems and structures for the IASC Foundation’s XBRL initiative
The Trustees of the IASC Foundation, the oversight body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), have this week provided a summary of the discussions and outcomes of their third meeting of the year, held in Madrid on 2 and 3 July 2007. At their meeting in April, the Trustees agreed to make such summaries publicly available shortly after their public meetings.
At the meeting in Madrid, the Trustees considered their oversight of the IASB, reviewed the progress of the IASB’s work against the organisation’s objectives of a single set of high quality principle-based standards, and met representatives from the Spanish official and business communities to discuss the adoption of IFRSs and the challenges facing the IASC Foundation and the IASB.
Commenting on the meeting, Phil Laskawy, Chairman of the Trustees said: Global convergence in accounting standards continues at a steady pace. With recent announcements from the US SEC and increasing adoption across Asia, Africa and South America the realisation of a single global financial reporting language based upon clearly articulated principles is approaching touching distance.
However, success is by no means guaranteed and there remain many challenges ahead— each of which has the potential to slow convergence and the benefits it will bring to both developed and emerging economies. The Trustees recognise the part they have to play by maintaining confidence and trust in the oversight and accountability of the IASB, and at last week’s meeting in Madrid we continued to make good progress on a number of fronts.
The next meeting of the Trustees will be held in New York City, New York, USA, on 31 October and 1 November 2007. Information about that meeting will be posted on the IASC Foundation’s Website.
Further information on the meeting on 2 and 3 July
Update from the Chairman of the IASB
Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the IASB, reported on progress on convergence with IFRSs being made by various countries including Brazil, China, India, Japan and Korea. Sir David also commented on recent pronouncements from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on plans to remove the requirement for foreign registrants reporting under IFRSs to provide a reconciliation to US GAAP.
His report can be obtained via the Trustees section of the IASB Website at www.iasb.org.
Feedback statements and cost/benefit analysis
At their meeting in April 2007 the Trustees supported a recommendation from the IASB to consolidate major themes and the IASB’s responses resulting from the submission of comment letters into a single feedback statement. They also approved plans to work with the IASB in developing a framework to assist in the evaluation of the relative costs and benefits of its proposals, with both of these documents becoming a regular part of the IASB’s due process.
The Trustees’ Procedures Committee supports the approach being taken by the IASB, and will review both feedback statements and impact assessments to ensure that the original goals of increased transparency and engagement with interested parties are achieved.
Post-implementation reviews
The IASB has also proposed that new IFRSs, as well as major amendments to IFRSs and major IFRIC interpretations, should contain a requirement for the IASB to conduct a review after at least two full years of implementation, to be completed within three years of the pronouncement’s effective date.
Such reviews would be limited to important issues identified as contentious during the development of the pronouncement and would review any unexpected costs or implementation problems encountered.
The first documents to be reviewed will be IFRS 8 Operating Segments, IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements and the revision of both IFRS 3 Business Combinations and IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements, which are expected to be issued later this year.
Funding
The Trustees noted that good progress had been made with fundraising efforts aimed at diversifying and ensuring the sustainability of resources, and that the IASC Foundation is on track to meet its funding requirements for 2008. The Trustees continue to examine potential solutions to meet the long-term funding requirements of the organisation. A fuller report on progress will be posted on the Trustees section of the IASC Foundation Website shortly.
Stakeholder engagement
In accordance with their usual practice of meeting stakeholder representative groups from the local jurisdiction, the Trustees met senior representatives from the Bank of Spain, the Madrid Stock Exchange and the Spanish Securities Commission.
The Trustees also met representatives of the Publish What You Pay coalition.
Development of a high quality XBRL taxonomy for IFRSs
The Trustees approved a plan to ensure that the Foundation’s eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) team have the appropriate quality control systems and structures in place to deliver an IFRS taxonomy with the same quality, in the same languages and at the same time as the annual bound volume of IFRSs. This plan included enlarging the team and setting up a quality review committee and an XBRL advisory council, with positions on these groups
being advertised.
Translation services
The Trustees reviewed the role that the Foundation plays in the translation of standards. They agreed that the existing strategy needs further evaluation, and they will discuss this at a future meeting.
Search for a new Chairman of the Trustees
The Trustees received a progress report on the search for a new Chairman, which is focused on European candidates. The Trustees reaffirmed that the Trustee Appointments Advisory Group will be consulted before any appointment is made. |
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