Impact of IFRS on the Canadian Technology sector

The transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for technology companies throughout Europe and Australia has shown there are some interpretation and application challenges unique to technology companies. A new publication by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) aims to highlight some of the significant differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS that will specifically impact the technology sector. (Read PwC's Impact of IFRS on the Canadian Technology sector.)

World’s leading accounting bodies call for global debate

The Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), a group of the world’s leading professional accounting bodies, has concluded that there is a need for a global debate on how to reduce complexity in financial reporting and how to accelerate the move towards principles-based financial reporting standards (IFRS). It notes that a financial reporting environment which emphasizes professional judgment, rather than adherence to a rulebook, would allow preparers and auditors to focus on the true economic substance of financial transactions. The GAA report, Getting to the heart of the issue – Can financial reporting be made simpler and more useful? draws on interviews conducted with financial regulators from the UK, Canada, Australia, China, the United States of America, South Africa, France, the European Commission and international regulators. Interviewees also included a leading US litigation lawyer and representatives of the world’s leading accounting and auditing practices.

Financial Reform: a Framework for Financial Stability

The Group of Thirty (G30) has issued a report called "Financial Reform: a Framework for Financial Stability." The report addresses flaws in the global financial system and provides 18 specific recommendations to: improve supervisory systems by redefining the scope, boundaries and structure of prudential regulation; enhance the role of the central banks; improve governance practices and risk management; address pro-cyclicality via capital and liquidity standards; enhance accounting practices; strengthen the financial infrastructure; and increase coordination internationally.

Climate change moving to the top of the agenda

Climate change was once a cause espoused by earnest people handing out flyers on street corners. Today, information on climate change is presented — to shareholders no less — in smartly designed sustainability reports. For some of the people who prepare those reports, the corporate managers and executives, climate change is no longer a cost that needs to be grudgingly acknowledged. Today, many corporations view climate change as an issue that, properly managed, can be used to build competitive advantage and capitalize on business opportunities. From the back burner, climate change has moved closer to the top of the agenda. (Read the article Corporate Climate Change in the January/February 2009 issue of CAmagazine.)

Corporate Social Responsibility in Canada - 2008 Ivey-Jantzi Research Report

The Ivey Business School's Centre for Building Sustainable Value has released the 2008 Ivey-Jantzi Research Report on Corporate Social Responsibility in Canada. The Report shows that trends in corporate social responsibility (CSR) are encouraging. Firms are increasingly investing in CSR programs and establishing policies that support environmental and social performance. The Centre is home to the Research Network for Business Sustainability which connects over 200 researchers across Canada and whose work reaches over 1000 practitioners worldwide.

Canada’s CA profession providing sustainability strategy

Canada’s Chartered Accountants were active participants at a recent international gathering focusing on ways to enable environmental and social performance to be better integrated into an organization’s strategy and reporting. On December 17, 2008, more than two hundred representatives from the corporate sector, the investment community, academia and others met in London, England for the Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Forum. The Prince of Wales first established his Accounting for Sustainability group in the summer of 2004 to research and develop systems that will help both public and private sector organizations incorporate sustainability into day-to-day decision making as well as financial and management reporting. Making a presentation at the event, Dave Pollard, CA, Vice-President, Knowledge Development, with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) suggested ways to more effectively incorporate sustainability assessment into an organization’s strategy and risk management processes and reporting. (Read the CICA Media Release.)

IASC Foundation publishes IFRS Taxonomy 2009

The IASC Foundation has announced the release of the near final version of the IFRS Taxonomy 2009 for public comment. The IFRS Taxonomy 2009 is a translation of IFRS as issued at December 31, 2008 into XBRL. (Read the Press Release.)