Commission roundtable on consistent application of IFRS

On 26 January, the European Commission hosted its third roundtable on the consistent application of IFRS. The event was attended by representatives of national standardsetters (including the ASB), regulators, preparers, the IASB and EFRAG. The roundtable is designed to be an informal and temporary mechanism to share and discuss potential issues that might give rise to problems of consistent application and which might be submitted to IFRIC. The roundtable acts as a filter.

Issues on the agenda included:

• the status of IFRIC rejections;
• the role of the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) in ensuring proper implementation of IFRS as adopted in Europe; and
• a presentation by the accountancy profession on the approach taken by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in reviewing IFRS financial statements by foreign issuers;

as well as discussion of a number of specific accounting issues.

Papers relating to the roundtable meetings and the issues discussed can be accessed on the Commission’s website at: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/accounting/ias_en.htm.

PAAinE Progress

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and European national standard setters have agreed to work more closely together so as to enable Europe as a whole to participate more fully in the development of global standards. These co-ordinated proactive activities are referred to by the acronym ‘PAAinE’, which stands for ‘Proactive Accounting Activities in Europe’.

A number of PAAinE Discussion Papers have been issued for comment. The first, on the conceptual framework, is highlighted on page 5. A second paper, on the performance reporting project, has been prepared by the Spanish standard-setter, the ICAC, together with EFRAG staff. Entitled ‘The performance reporting debate: what (if anything) is wrong with the good old income statement?’, this paper sets out some initial issues for consideration in the debate on the format of the reporting statement. Copies are available at www.efrag.org and comments are requested by 31 March.

Work is continuing on a number of other PAAinE projects, including pensions (see page 8), revenue recognition, and liabilities and equity.