Beyond the GAAP

Following the summer break, IAS 12 – Income Taxes and IFRS 17 – Insurance Contracts are in the spotlight, with consultations on both from the IASB as well as a detailed Public Statement from ESMA, the European enforcer, on the former.

The half-yearly financial statements stand between you and your well-earned summer break, so it may be worth taking a look at the IFRS IC’s agenda decisions on IFRS 15, IFRS 16 and cryptocurrencies. After that, you could take our crossword away with you - a light-hearted edition that brings the series to a close.

As announced last month, the IASB has begun to publish a number of exposure drafts. With consultation deadlines phased from June to September, these will keep stakeholders busy throughout the summer.

This year, it wasn’t accounting that made the news in April... A chance for our readers to enjoy the holidays and the month of May.

In March, the IASB completed its marathon discussions on the proposed amendments to IFRS 17 – Insurance Contracts (see our ‘A Closer Look’ feature). The Exposure Draft is now scheduled for publication at the end of June, and the Board has tentatively decided that the comment period will be three months (thus including August).

News from the IASB continues to be dominated by work to amend IFRS 17, to which we return in this edition’s special study.

With annual report season in full swing, this issue of Beyond the GAAP is a slightly quicker read than last month’s issue.

Following on from last issue’s feature, which provided a general overview of standards applicable at 31 December 2018, Beyond the GAAP details, in special studies, two issues that may impact your financial statements either immediately with the first study on how to account for hyperinflation in Argentina, or more prospectively with the IASB’s latest proposals on the costs to be taken into account to determine whether a contract is onerous.

Ahead of the preparation of financial statements at 31 December 2018, Beyond the GAAP summarises the standards applicable to the current year and revisits the information published by European entities on the introduction of IFRS 16 at 30 June 2018 - information which must be significantly expanded in December 2018.

During October, the European legislators have endorsed interpretation IFRIC 23 – Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments. Meanwhile, the IASB has published new short, but focused, documents.