Whom Do Public Companies Now Serve?

Integrated reporting is becoming a reality in the United States.  Southwest Airlines issued its first integrated report in 2009, combining financial and non-financial performance assessments, including information on corporate responsibility goals. By instituting this new form of annual report, which it calls “One Report” or “Performance, People, Planet,” Southwest Airlines has placed these broader goals on the same path as corporate performance. The company has codified its accountability to multiple constituencies.  (See “Whom Do Public Companies Now Serve?” at Forbes online.)

Smarter Evidence and Discovery Management

"There is no question that the influence and role of eDiscovery in litigation in Canada continues to develop. While eDiscovery has been a fixture in the US for many years, there has been a slower, pragmatic and perhaps sensible approach to the disclosure of electronic documents in this country. However, as documents are now overwhelmingly formed and maintained primarily in electronic form, it is acknowledged that eDiscovery has arrived in Canada and is here to stay." Visit the KPMG website and read the publication Smarter Evidence and Discovery Management.

Effective IFRS communications with stakeholders

Effective communication cannot happen without an understanding of the needs of the audience. In preparing the first IFRS interim reports, adopters should try to look at the information through the same lens as the people who are seeing it for the first time, most of whom are on a steep IFRS learning curve. Will the readers of those reports be able to discern whether changes are a reflection of business performance or the new standards? Helpful resources can be found on the CICA’s IFRS website including: (1) IFRS Financial Statements – Examples: A sampling of interim IFRS financial statements provided by first-time adopters. (2) Meeting Regulatory Requirements: A web page that provides OSC guidance on MD&A disclosure, including a publication called Ontario Securities Commission Issuer Guide: Top 10 Tips for Public Companies Filing Their First IFRS Interim Financial Reports. (3) A Review of 2010 Financial Statement Disclosures and What to Expect in 2011: An audio/slide presentation that discusses how financial analysis will be different in an IFRS world. The CICA is providing free access to this recording. Other useful IFRS audio presentations are available at the CICA Xtensions Learning Centre.

PwC webcasts - US GAAP & IFRS Convergence Series

The next PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) webcast in the US GAAP & IFRS Convergence Series is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, from 1:00pm to 2:30pm (ET). This webcast will begin with a recap of recent developments and close with some recommendations regarding next steps. Speakers on the webcast panel will: provide a brief update on the convergence agenda; summarize results to survey questions; discuss recommended next steps; and answer questions during a Q&A session. Additional US GAAP convergence & IFRS resources are available at PwC online, along with archives for previous webcasts. 

Research on Corporate Disclosures

Why do some companies provide extensive forward-looking disclosures while others remain relatively silent? What prompts some companies to disclose important discretionary information in their letter to shareholders rather than in the management discussion and analysis (MD&A)? Is the extent of disclosure likely to change as companies move to adopt IFRS? Recent developments in academic research help address these and other questions. Literature on voluntary versus mandatory disclosures and a sample of Canadian public companies illustrate the form and content of forward-looking disclosures in Canadian annual reports. Scan the article “Corporate Disclosures” in the March 2010 edition of CAmagazine online and learn more by reading the CICA research study Corporate Reporting to Stakeholders (June 2008).