Are you aware of the significant changes to accounting standards in the next two years? If not, RMA can help prepare you and your institution.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are engaged in a number of projects to promote the convergence of accounting standards used internationally. One joint project in particular—Financial Statement Presentation (The Project)—has a direct and significant impact on credit and lending practices.
The Project seeks to establish a common, high quality standard for presentation of information in the financial statements—namely the statement of financial position, the statement of earnings and comprehensive income, and the cash flow statement, including the classification and display of line items and the aggregation of the line items into subtotals and totals.
Through this Web page, RMA will keep you informed on The Project and provide resources like courses and audioconferences to help prepare you for the changes. Please refer to this Web page often for updates as more information becomes available. We also encourage you to visit the FASB website for in-depth information.
Related Events
October 7, 2009: RMA launches its new series of IFRS-related recorded Web seminars
RMA Response (PDF) to the Discussion Paper – Preliminary Views on Financial Statement Presentation
"The World Not According to GAAP"
Audioconference from November 18, 2008 is now available on CD-ROM. Please call RMA Customer Care at 800-677-7621 to request a copy.
Web presentation introducing the discussion paper on Financial Statement Presentation
From November 14, 2008, IASB
Achived Topics of Interest (for newer topics, please log in to the Member Site)
January 6, 2010: IASB clarifies contingent liability rules with guidance
New guidelines proposed by the International Accounting Standards Board are expected to offer clarity on liabilities related to legal settlements as well as the decommissioning of major assets like factories. The exposure draft was released Tuesday and is aimed at clarifying earlier, "vague" guidance. (CFO.com)
December 17, 2009: Panel to study issue of accounting standards for private companies
A panel created by the AICPA and the Financial Accounting Foundation with support from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy will explore questions about the future of standard setting for U.S. private companies. Recommendations are expected this year. AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, said he sees potential for significant action resulting from the group's work. "There has never been an effort at this level to address this issue," Melancon said. JournalofAccountancy.com
December 11, 2009: Japan's voluntary IFRS adoption puts pressure on U.S.
Japan's Financial Services Authority put pressure on the U.S. to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards after it said it would allow voluntary domestic use of the standards. Japan had been the biggest country after the U.S. to hold out on adopting the standards. "The FSA's decision to permit domestic use of IFRS represents a first step towards a mandatory use of IFRS in Japan, and is an important milestone on the path towards global standards," said International Accounting Standards Board Chairman Sir David Tweedie in a statement. (WebCPA)
December 10, 2009: Disregard IFRS 9 standard, says IASB's Leisenring
James Leisenring urged an audience at an accounting conference to ignore the new IFRS 9 standard for financial instruments issued by the International Accounting Standards Board in November. According to Leisenring, the board -- of which he is a member -- was influenced by political pressures when it recommended the standard. Mandatory adoption is five years away and there may be changes as the FASB works on its standards for financial instruments. (WebCPA)
December 9, 2009: SEC signals that action on IFRS is forthcoming
The Securities and Exchange Commission could consider further action on IFRS adoption early this year, according to Commissioner Elisse Walter. Walter's comments came at an AICPA conference, on the heels of SEC Chief Accountant James Kroeker's comments that more information about IFRS adoption would be coming "in the short term." (JournalofAccountancy.com)
December 7, 2009: No IFRS timeline details in SEC comments at AICPA conference
Those eager for specifics from the Securities and Exchange Commission concerning its proposed road map for adopting International Financial Reporting Standards in the United States were left waiting by a speech delivered by the agency's chief accountant Monday. In an October speech, SEC Chief Accountant James Kroeker said the commission would offer greater clarity on its plan by December 21. In a speech Monday at an AICPA conference, he provided few additional details, but said, "You can expect to hear more from us in the short term." (JournalofAccountancy.com)
December 2009: Will convergence be enough?: If efforts to merge international accounting standards are successful, the idea of U.S. companies having to switch standards may become a nonissue, according to this article. The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board are trying to complete their convergence projects in 2011. (CFO Magazine)
November 2009: The Exciting World of Accounting by Mark Zmiewski (RMA Journal, PDF)
November 20, 2009: IFRS aims to level playing field but causes some concerns
The possible adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards by the U.S. is meant to level the global playing field and make it easier to compare financial statements of companies around the world. However, as this article notes, critics and concerned parties say that the benefits of the global accounting standards would vary considerably among different companies in the U.S. (CFO.com)
November 12, 2009: IASB completes part of new financial-instruments accounting standard
The International Accounting Standards Board has published a new standard on classifying and measuring financial assets. The standard completes the first phase of a three-part project to replace IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement. (JournalofAccountancy.com)
November 2, 2009: IASB, FASB exclude certain leases from new accounting rule:Decisions by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board would exclude certain types of leases from a new accounting standard. The rulings are a victory for executives at companies that had pushed to exclude certain types of leases from the new rules. The new rules put leases and other obligations on company balance sheets. Read FAQs developed by the AICPA on the Preliminary Views documents on leases issued by the FASB and the IASB. (CFO.com)
October 29, 2009: FASB, IASB will work more intensely to reach common set of standards: The leaders of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board announced at an IFRS conference Thursday that they will begin meeting monthly to try to speed up their efforts to develop a common set of accounting standards by their target date of 2011. Read the complete story and watch an exclusive video interview with conference speaker Paul Volcker, chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, on the effect of adopting IFRS on global capital markets. (JournalofAccountancy.com)
October 2009: State of Financial Statement Presentation Survey Results (PDF)
September 27, 2009: G-20 calls for single set of accounting standards by June 2011 The Group of 20 nations called on international accounting bodies "to redouble their efforts to achieve a single set of high-quality, global accounting standards within the context of their independent standard-setting process and complete their convergence project by June 2011." The G-20 also said the International Accounting Standards Board's institutional framework should further enhance the involvement of stakeholders. (Journal of Accountancy)
September 24, 2009: FASB Allows Early Adoption of Key Provisions of New Revenue Recognition Approach By ratifying two Emerging Issues Task Force documents, the Financial Accounting Standards Board brought U.S. GAAP closer to the approach outlined in the board's joint revenue-recognition project with the International Accounting Standards Board. (Journal of Accountancy)
September 23, 2009: Educators say U.S. economy, students need IFRS to remain competitive About half of accounting professors said the U.S. needs to transition to IFRS to remain competitive, and three out of four think IFRS needs to be immediately incorporated into their curricula, according to a survey by the American Accounting Association and KPMG. However, only 8% thought at least half of their school's accounting faculty was qualified to teach IFRS. (Journal of Accountancy)
September 16, 2009: Accounting Regulators Not Necessarily in Harmony The global financial crisis and ensuing political pressure have forced both the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board to adjust, making their goal of convergence increasingly difficult. For example, FASB Chairman Robert Herz recently said the U.S. board's accounting standards for loans may be more strict than the IASB's. While the boards may not be completely in sync, leaders of both bodies said they will continue efforts toward convergence. (WebCPA)
September 11, 2009: Survey: Financial executives believe move to IFRS will occur Conversion to International Financial Reporting Standards is either "highly likely" or "somewhat likely," according to 89% of more than 245 financial executives who responded to a survey by Deloitte. "Convergence of accounting standards was under way well before the financial crisis hit. However, the current focus on restructuring the financial industry puts increased pressure and immediacy on driving IFRS convergence," said Deloitte & Touche partner D.J. Gannon. For IFRS daily updates, training courses, case studies and other resources, visit IFRS.com. (WebCPA)
September 2009: IFRS Risk Planning and Controls Execution, Strategic considerations for financial managers. (Journal of Accountancy)
August 27, 2009: IASB Proposes Amendments to 11 IFRSs (Journal of Accountancy)
August 14, 2009: Dramatic Changes Expected in Lease Accounting: Are You Prepared? (Boston Real Estate News)
August 12, 2009: Simplified Reporting: Forgotten in the Crisis? It's been a year since an SEC advisory committee made suggestions for improving the standard-setting and preparation that goes into financial statements. (CFO.com)
August 11, 2009: ASB sounds death knell for UK GAAP (Accountancy Age)
August 2009: IFRS for SMEs, August 2009 (Can be obtained by registering for free on the IASB website)
August 7, 2009: IFRS for SMEs: Is it Financial Reporting Private Entities in U.S. Have Been Waiting For? (This article was published in the BNA Accounting Policy & Practice Report and on the BNA Tax and Accounting Center. The article is reprinted with permission from Tax Management Inc., a subsidiary of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. For more information, visit BNA Tax and Accounting on the web at www.bnatax.com.)
August 4, 2009: Tweedie Warns of 2011 Deadline for IFRS Choice – International Accounting Standards Board chairman Sir David Tweedie said that other countries are running out of patience waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to decide on whether to approve a roadmap for transitioning to International Financial Reporting Standards and that the U.S. would need to commit by 2011. (WebCPA.com)
July 10, 2009: New documents were recently released regarding International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS®) for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs).
July 2, 2009: Revenue Recognition: Will a Single Model Fly? – Elements unique to long-term contracts pose a challenge for FASB and IASB in their bid to create one standard covering all customer relationships. (CFO.com)
June 18, 2009: Company comparisons (PDF) – The attached slides compare U,S. GAAP results to IFRS results for a sample of foreign companies based on the last time they were required to submit reconciliations to the SEC to reconcile IFRS to U.S. GAAP for income and equity. Most of this information is based on years ended on Dec 31, 2005 or within Q1 2006. (Courtesy of www.knowledgeplus.org)
June 17, 2009: Will the New FASB Code Change Accounting? – The alphabet soup of standards that makes up Generally Accepted Accounting Principles is about to disappear as the Financial Accounting Standards Board prepares to launch its codification system. (CFO.com)
June 10, 2009: Global Accounting Rule Shift – IT departments need to start planning for a potential move to International Financial Reporting Standards, including how current or future IT initiatives might be affected by adoption of the international accounting standards. (CIO.com)
April 24, 2009: Critics Pan New Financial Statements – A long-planned overhaul of financial statements gets a rough reception from preparers at its initial unveiling, particularly from banks. Meanwhile, a survey says a large majority of CFOs don't even know about the proposal. (CFO.com)
April 2009: IFRS: A Preparer's Point of View – Be ready to lead your company's transition to IFRS.
March 30, 2009: Guessing the Costs of IFRS Conversion – U.S. companies believe they will spend more than European ones did to adopt the global rules, according to an Accenture survey.
March 13, 2009: Accounting: a Narrative Art? – If U.S. GAAP becomes principles based, financial executives would do well to become students of Mother Goose.
March 13, 2009: FASB Gives Cautious Response to IFRS Roadmap – The Financial Accounting Standards Board and its parent organization, the Financial Accounting Foundation, sent a comment letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission giving a thumbs-up to the proposed roadmap to International Financial Reporting Standards, but they urged more consultation and study.
March 5, 2009: Fair Value Footnote Rule Is Step to Convergence – IASB's new disclosure standard borrows the three-tier risk hierarchy from U.S. GAAP.
January 15, 2009: Top Obama Advisers Clash on Global Accounting Standards – With Paul Volcker delivering a strong endorsement of International Financial Reporting Standards, the nominee for SEC chair, Mary Schapiro, testifies that she has concerns about the IFRS timeline.
January 5, 2009: Congressionally-Mandated Study Says Improve, Do Not Suspend, Fair Value Accounting Standards – The Securities and Exchange Commission today delivered a report to Congress mandated by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 that recommends against the suspension of fair value accounting standards.
December 22, 2008: One Beneficiary of IFRS Switch: the Taxman – A popular method of inventory accounting, not allowed under international rules, will have some U.S. companies paying higher tax bills
November 2008: Overview of FASB, IASB joint project on financial statements – Four years ago, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board started a joint project with the goal of enhancing the presentation of financial statements. This Journal of Accountancy article offers a comprehensive overview of the project as well as an analysis of its strengths and weaknesses. Journal of Accountancy
November 14, 2008: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its proposed roadmap for the potential transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by U.S. companies
October 16, 2008: Preliminary Views on Financial Statement Presentation – Press Release: IASB and FASB launch consultation on proposed enhancements to the presentation of financial statements. The full report can be viewed here.
IASB Update: Frequent updates from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
October 31, 2008: Could the Crisis Crimp Convergence? by Alan Rappeport, CFO.com
October 16, 2008: Straight Talk No. 11 – On the Road to IFRS, Deloitte LLP
October 1, 2008: Convergence Divergence by Marie Leone, CFO.com
September 25, 2008: IFRS Timetable Not on Time by Alix Stuart, CFO.com
September 24, 2008: IFRS and U.S. GAAP, A Pocket Comparison, Deloitte
September 17, 2008: Five Ways a Conversion to International Financial Reporting Standards Could Impact a Global Tax Structure, Deloitte
September 4, 2008: Education Lags Behind IFRS Momentum by Sarah Johnson, CFO.com
September 4, 2008: SEC Proposes Roadmap for IFRS Adoption, AccountingWEB.com
September/October 2008: Inventory Accounting After LIFO by Frances L. Ayres, Christine C. Bauman, Mark P. Bauman and Yun Fan, Commercial Lending Review (PDF)
September/October 2008: Minority Interest and the Effect on Financial Leverage Under FAS-160 by Frank R. Urbancic, Commercial Lending Review (PDF)
July 10, 2008: Bernanke, Paulson Champion Global Accounting by Alan Rappeport, CFO.com
June 17, 2008: AICPA Calls for Three to Five Year Timeline for IFRS Transition, AccountingWEB.com
June 2008: Are You Ready for IFRS?, PricewaterhouseCoopers (en Français)
May 2, 2008: The Beginning of the End of GAAP by Marie Leone, CFO.com
May 2008: Putting IFRS in Motion, PricewaterhouseCoopers (en Français)
March 22, 2008: FASB Moves to Nix "Cash Equivalents" by Marie Leone, CFO.com
June 1, 2007: IFRS Coming to America by Lawrence M. Gill, Journal of Accountancy (PDF)
Preparing for IFRS: What Your Company Can do to Stay Ahead of the Curve by Bob Dohrer, RSM McGladrey (PDF)