News Archive

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued a minor amendment to IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. The amendment relieves first-time adopters of IFRSs from providing the additional disclosures introduced in March 2009 by Improving Disclosures about Financial Instruments (Amendments to IFRS 7). It thereby ensures that first-time adopters benefit from the same transition provisions that Amendments to IFRS 7 provides to current IFRS preparers. More in our full news item. [AL]

At the end of year 2009, the Chinese Ministry of Finance provided guidance on how to further improve financial reporting quality in 2010. Several points were emphasized, including additional guidance on first-time adoption, appropriate use of professional judgment, elimination of the difference in A-share and H-share listed firms, and adoption of ‘Other Comprehensive Income’. Click through for fuller details of these proposals [HS]

The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has released new and updated information about the status of inspections of registered non-U.S. accounting firms. Click through for more information. [GC]

Plans to adopt a three-tiered structure for financial reporting in the UK, based on a concept of public accountability, are sensible, but the proposed timescale in which to do so is unrealistic. That’s the view of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in its submission to the Accounting Standards Board Consultation ‘The Future of UK GAAP’. Click through for more details and to access this submission.[AL]

The audit committees of listed companies should make public, clear and detailed information to explain to shareholders, how decisions regarding the provision of non-audit services by the company’s external auditor are made, and their process for ensuring the independence of the auditor. There should also be a more consistent and higher quality of disclosure in the financial statements of the quantity and nature of the non-audit services provided. These are the two main recommendations in a report by a Working Group established by ICAS to examine the issue of the provision of non-audit services by external auditors after it was raised by the Treasury Select Committee in their report into the Financial Crisis. More in our full news item. [AL]

The Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation announced this week the appointment of two leading financial executives to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB): Dr Elke König, former member of the executive board and chief financial officer (CFO) of Hannover Re Group (Germany) and Darrel Scott, CFO of the FirstRand Banking Group (South Africa). More details in our full news item. [AL]

Universities are increasingly confronted with a plethora of ranking and classification initiatives – both at the national and international level. While many university leaders have reservations about rankings, their methodologies and criteria, there is a growing recognition that such initiatives are here to stay. Research has also shown that despite the acknowledged shortcomings of their criteria, rankings are having an increasing impact on decision making and activities in universities across Europe. This is why the European University Association (EUA) has decided that there is need to respond on behalf of the 850 universities it represents by publishing an ‘annual review of international higher education rankings’. Click through for further details of this initiative. [AL]

The UK Auditing Practices Board (APB) of the FRC has this week issued guidance for auditors where financial statements have been tagged for XBRL purposes. Further information, and access to the guidance itself, can be found in our full news item. [AL]

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is challenging schools from up and down the country to enter its national business game. The Business, Accounting and Skills Education (BASE) competition will take place across twenty-three different locations during February and March. Click through for more details. [AL]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has voted to provide public companies with interpretive guidance on existing SEC disclosure requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating to the issue of climate change. Click through for more details. [GC]