SEC Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting met on May 2, 2008. At the meeting, the advisory committee received the interim reports of four subcommittees: Report of the Substantive Complexity Subcommittee, Report of the Standards-Setting Subcommittee, Report of the Audit Process and Compliance Subcommittee and the Report of the Delivering Financial Information Subcommittee. (View the Agenda for the meeting and the Project webpage.)

Canadian Securities Administrators address IFRS disclosure requirements

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has issued a staff notice addressing IFRS pre-adoption disclosure requirements for Canadian reporting issuers. CSA Staff Notice 52-320 Disclosure of Expected Changes in Accounting Policies Relating to Changeover to IFRS marks another significant step in Canada’s transition. The CSA is a forum for the 13 securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories to coordinate and harmonize regulation of the Canadian capital markets.

XBRL: Not Just for External Reporting

XBRL is not just for financial reporting by public companies. It promises to be for business reporting what the Universal Product Code (UPC) has become for retailers -- a means of standardizing, managing and simplifying processes. Read the article XBRL: Not Just for External Reporting featured in Financial Executives magazine and available on the PricewaterhouseCoopers website.

IFAC global survey on financial reporting

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has published the results of a 2007 global survey on the Financial Reporting Supply Chain. The report addresses corporate governance, the financial reporting process, the audit of financial reports and the usefulness of financial reports. IFAC has launched a new project to analyze current actions to address the suitability of business reporting and to identify areas for future development. This project will take the findings of the report to the next stage and develop specific recommendations for further action. For more information, refer to the Financial Reporting Supply Chain project page.

Climate Change and Related Disclosures

Governments around the globe are taking action to address the causes of climate change. This includes instituting carbon taxes, regulating emissions reduction targets and introducing emissions trading systems. The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) has issued a document pointing out that, at the company level, climate change is a business and shareholder value issue involving strategy, risk management and financial performance. (View the CICA executive briefing on Climate Change and Related Disclosures.)

Financial and Business Reporting on the Internet

A new publication offers guidance to assist companies in developing effective investor relations sections for their websites. The Discussion Brief titled “Financial and Business Reporting on the Internet” is a joint publication by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and the Canadian Investor Relations Institute (CIRI). Preparation of the document drew on the web-reporting practices of leading companies that participated in the CICA’s annual Corporate Reporting Awards.

IASC Foundation publishes IFRS Taxonomy 2008

The IASC Foundation’s XBRL Team has announced the release of the near final version of the IFRS Taxonomy 2008. The taxonomy is a complete translation of IFRS as published in the IFRS Bound Volume 2008 into XBRL and is published in the same languages as the IFRS Bound Volume 2008 (View IASB Press Release or visit the IFRS Taxonomy 2008 project webpage.)