The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) added to its work plan a project on discounting (or present value) in 1998. IASC was the predecessor of the International Accounting Standards Board (the IASB). When the IASB came into being in 2001 and took over from IASC, the IASB decided not to continue with the project. In… Continue reading IASC’s project on discounting
Tag: Disclosure
Tell investors about your crypto
There has recently been turmoil in the world of cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency exchanges. So, are companies disclosing enough about their holdings of cryptocurrencies and other crypto-assets? If they are not, should the IASB take any action? This post discusses the following: For brevity, in the rest of this post, I use the term cryptocurrencies to… Continue reading Tell investors about your crypto
Saying how likely something is: way forward
IFRS standards use too many different terms to say how likely it is that an event will occur. And different people using IFRS Standards interpret those terms in different ways. Those clear messages appeared in a research report issued in 2016 by the Korea Accounting Standards Board (KASB) and Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). I… Continue reading Saying how likely something is: way forward
Selecting a measurement basis
The additions in 2018 to the IASB’s Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting included a table summarising what information various measurement basis provide. It seems that people have paid little attention to that table. In this post, I highlight that table, summarise its role and content, and explain why it is important. Role of table… Continue reading Selecting a measurement basis
Saying how likely something is
IFRS standards use too many different terms to describe how likely it is that an event will occur. That is a clear conclusion of KASB Research Report No. 39 / AASB Research Report No. 2 Accounting Judgements on Terms of Likelihood in IFRS: Korea and Australia, issued in 2016 by the Korea Accounting Standards Board… Continue reading Saying how likely something is
The hardest question in standard-setting?
When accounting standard-setters have to make decisions about recognition and measurement, they often face two competing claims: some people argue that investors will under-react if companies are forced to recognise something; but other people argue that investors will over-react if companies are forced to recognise that thing. Standard-setters would love to get evidence that would… Continue reading The hardest question in standard-setting?
Putting the wrong kinds of numbers in P&L won’t help save the planet
Many companies will need to spend a lot of money reshaping their businesses to help save the planet. Some environmental campaigners say that companies should book all that spending as liabilities today. They argue that booking that spending today would make investors focus on that information and that investors would then put pressure on companies… Continue reading Putting the wrong kinds of numbers in P&L won’t help save the planet
Discount rates for very long maturities
A common question about discount rates is how to estimate a discount rate for assets and liabilities with very long maturities. Such a discount rate contains a term premium that cannot be based on evidence and can never be back-tested. As a result, that term premium is not really an estimate, it is just a… Continue reading Discount rates for very long maturities
Did a dead man write IAS 1?
There is a strange but persistent rumour that IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements was written by Sir Henry Benson (later Lord Benson), the first chairman of the IASB’s predecessor, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). If true, this would have been a remarkable feat. Benson’s term as IASC chairman finished in 1976 and he… Continue reading Did a dead man write IAS 1?
All disclosure requirements belong in one standard
Disclosure requirements in IFRS Standards are distributed throughout almost all of the standards. In my view, the IASB should consolidate all its disclosure requirements into one location in one standard. I explain that view in a comment letter I have submitted on the IASB’s exposure draft Disclosure Requirements in IFRS Standards—A Pilot Approach. My response… Continue reading All disclosure requirements belong in one standard