IFRS 15 – a big threat to compensation arrangements? Sure, whatever you say…

“Revenue Standard causes concern about compensation arrangements” says the headline of a recent article in the Journal of Accountancy. Here’s an extract: “Compensation arrangements are emerging as a big concern for companies as they implement the new revenue recognition standard. Many companies have compensation plans for sales personnel, executives, or others that are tied to…

Biased information – the limits of disclosure

A recent article in The New York Times argued that disclosure of conflict of interest “often has the opposite of its intended effect, not only increasing bias in advisers but also making advisees more likely to follow biased advice. The article isn’t any way about disclosure in the context of IFRS, and any extrapolation of…

The CSA’s continuous disclosure review report – nope, everything’s not fixed yet

The Canadian Securities Administrators have issued Staff Notice 51-346 Continuous Disclosure Review Program Activities for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. The report highlights a motley selection of apparently recurring deficiencies in IFRS financial statements: Market Risk Sensitivity Analysis “Some issuers present sensitivity analysis that is not reflective of the reasonably possible changes in…

Integrated reporting – what does it do for IFRS?

In a recent post, I wrote a little bit about the integrated reporting (<IR>, as it styles itself) initiative, very much from the perspective of someone dipping an initial toe into the water. I mentioned that the initiative’s website contains samples of reports prepared with reference to the <IR> framework, and it’s interesting from many…

New leases standard – what to disclose

As we discussed here, the IASB has issued IFRS 16 Leases, effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2019. We’ve already discussed some of the issues arising in identifying at inception of a contract whether that contract is a lease, or contains a lease, in determining the lease term, and in measuring the lease…

Doing the business!

The IASB has issued Definition of a Business and Accounting for Previously Held Interests, an exposure draft of proposed amendments to IFRS 3 and IFRS 11, with comments to be received by October 31,  2016 IFRS 3 defines a business as “an integrated set of activities and assets that is capable of being conducted and…

The woods for the trees – better communication through IFRS

Notes on a recent speech by IASB Chair Hans Hoogervorst Here’s how the accompanying news release summed it up: “Mr Hoogervorst stated that the completion of several big IFRS Standards now allows the Board to focus its efforts on increasing the communication effectiveness of financial statements. He intends to prioritise the theme of ‘Better Communication’…

Brexit – bad news for Britain, and also for IFRS?

Of all the reasons to worry about the UK’s staggeringly reckless “Brexit” decision, the potential impact on IFRS probably wouldn’t rank too highly… At the very least though, it’s not good news for the IFRS Foundation and its activities. On the symbolic level alone, such a major statement against the free flow of capital and…