Some people wonder why companies present pension liabilities net of the related plan assets. They suggest that instead companies should consolidate their pension plans. People making that suggestion think it would lead to companies presenting pension liabilities (gross) separately from the plan assets. This post explains why introducing a requirement to consolidate pension plans would… Continue reading Does it matter that companies don’t consolidate pension funds?
Tag: Disclosure
Myths about Deferred tax
There are many myths about what deferred tax is. As a result, many companies do not understand what information about deferred tax can tell investors. Thus, companies typically present that information in a technical way that investors find difficult to understand. Consequently, most investors dismiss that information as an uninteresting technicality and they ignore it.… Continue reading Myths about Deferred tax
Is there such a thing as unrecognised income or expense?
The IASB’s Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting and IFRS Standards discuss both recognised assets and liabilities and unrecognised assets and liabilities. A question that sometimes comes up whether there exists a corresponding notion of unrecognised income and expenses. Unrecognised assets and unrecognised liabilities The Conceptual Framework acknowledges that not all assets and liabilities are not… Continue reading Is there such a thing as unrecognised income or expense?
Recognition
When the IASB developed the 2018 version of its Conceptual Framework for Financial Statements (2018), it created a set of principles that it believed would provide a more coherent base for its future decisions on recognition. The post summarises how those principles differ from the recognition criteria contained in the previous (2010) version of the… Continue reading Recognition
IASC’s project on discounting
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
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?