Accounting for war, or: victory through errors!

Pentagon Says Accounting Mistake Frees Up $3 Billion More for Ukraine, announces a recent New York Times story. Here’s some of the detail: The Pentagon has significantly reduced its estimate of the value of weapons it has sent to Ukraine, freeing up at least $3 billion to keep Ukrainian troops supplied in their war against…

Recognizing intangible assets, or: comparability is not uniformity!

As part of its activities, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) organizes a forum of enforcers from 38 different European jurisdictions, all of whom carry out monitoring and review programs similar to those carried out here by the Canadian Securities Administrators. ESMA recently published some extracts from its confidential database of enforcement decisions on…

Disclosures on human rights, or: we’ve got nothing to hide!

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) recently issued a Request for Information Consultation on Agenda Priorities, to seek feedback on its priorities for its next two-year work plan. The document is open for comment until September 1, 2023. The ISSB has identified four potential projects in particular: “three sustainability-related research projects—1) biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services;…

Hybrid work arrangements – we’re feeling renewed!

The financial reporting challenges arising from Covid 19 may largely be receding into the past… …but the aftermath yields its own issues. One of these is the new prevalence of hybrid-work arrangements under which companies provide their employees with more flexibility to work partly in the office and partly remotely. Here’s the background to an…

Disclosures on diversity, or: tap those innate abilities!

Canadian securities regulators propose changes to corporate governance disclosure practices and guidelines, announces a recent news release. Here’s an extract: The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is seeking public comment (by July 12, 2023) on proposed amendments to corporate governance disclosure rules and policy relating to the director nomination process, board renewal and diversity. They would…

Disclosing climate-related matters, or: not seaworthy!

As part of its activities, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) organizes a forum of enforcers from 38 different European jurisdictions, all of whom carry out monitoring and review programs similar to those carried out here by the Canadian Securities Administrators. ESMA recently published some extracts from its confidential database of enforcement decisions on…

Accounting for intangibles: good for the public, or even for accountants?

The UK Endorsement Board recently issued Accounting for Intangibles; UK Stakeholders’ Views. The report “summarizes the views of UK stakeholders and relevant literature about the accounting for intangibles in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards.” The Board “will use these findings as an evidence base in its future work on intangibles, including future research work, developing…

Amendments to derecognition requirements, but keeping it narrow!

The IASB mentioned a while ago that to “reduce diversity in practice and assist with the consistent application of the derecognition requirements in IFRS 9, (it) decided to clarify that for the derecognition of financial assets (except for ‘regular way’ transactions) and financial liabilities, an entity applies settlement date accounting”… The exposure draft to make all…

Activision Blizzard: fair game?

This is from a recent SEC press release: The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Activision Blizzard Inc., a video game development and publishing company, agreed to pay $35 million to settle charges that it failed to maintain disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that the company could assess whether its disclosures pertaining to…