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.)

Adopting IFRS in Canada - Omnibus Exposure Draft

Canada’s Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has issued an omnibus Exposure Draft proposing to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) into the CICA Handbook. IFRS would serve as a replacement for current Canadian GAAP for most publicly accountable enterprises effective for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2011. The comment deadline is July 31, 2008. (View the Exposure Draft.)

IFRS Conference North America - April 24-25, 2008

The IFRS – North America Conference is a joint presentation by The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation and The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). It is a significant international event being held in Toronto, Canada, bringing Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and other members of the IASB to North America. Other speakers include senior representatives from the Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), regulators from Canada and the United States, and international financial reporting experts. For complete conference details and to register on-line, go to the conference-exclusive website (www.cpd.cica.ca/IFRSNA).

Recasting the Reporting Model

A February 2008 article by PricewaterhouseCoopers discusses the complexity of today's reporting model and the need for a new market-driven blueprint for reporting. This point-of-view article suggests a set of parameters for "high quality corporate reporting." (View Recasting the Reporting Model.)