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?

Help for unpacking the objective of financial reporting

Paragraphs 1.2-1.4 of the IASB’s Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting are written so densely that some people do not succeed in unpacking what they say. To make unpacking the meaning of those paragraphs easier, the IASB staff recommended in 2017 that the IASB should add a flowchart to the Conceptual Framework. This post summarises the… Continue reading Help for unpacking the objective of financial reporting

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

Those mushrooming effective date paragraphs

The IASB has a problem with effective date paragraphs.  There are far too many of them and their number keeps growing. I believe it is time to find a better approach to writing these paragraphs. What does the IASB do now? When the IASB amends a standard, it also adds to that standard a paragraph… Continue reading Those mushrooming effective date paragraphs

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

Equity is not a residual

People often describe equity as a residual. That description is not fully accurate and may mislead people. There are probably three reasons why some people use that description: the definition of equity includes the word residual. the total amount of reported equity is measured as a residual. the pre-2018 version of the IASB’s Conceptual Framework… Continue reading Equity is not a residual

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