Canadian regulator issues guides on IFRS

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has issued two high-level guides on the impacts of IFRS: Deciphering IFRS - What Analysts Need To Know About IFRS Transition and Investing in the New Era - What Investors Need To Know About IFRS Transition. The guides outline a number of questions for analysts and investors to consider and are available on the OSC website.

CEO Round Table - What do the leaders of the top seven CA firms think about key issues?

In December 2010, Kevin Dancey, president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), hosted a round table discussion with the CEOs of the top seven accounting firms. The discussion covered a wide range of topics of interest to the profession. Participants included Chris Clark of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Keith Farlinger of BDO Canada, Trent Henry of Ernst & Young, Alan MacGibbon of Deloitte, Phil Noble of Grant Thornton, Daryl Ritchie of Meyers Norris Penny and Bill Thomas of KPMG. Also present was Bill MacKinnon, chairman of the CICA. Read what these leaders had to say about key issues in the article "CEO Round Table" at CAmagazine online.

Integrated Reporting Workshop Videos - Harvard Business School

A series of about 30 YouTube videos has recently been posted by the Harvard Business School. The videos cover the various speaker presentations at the Workshop on Integrated Reporting which was held at the Harvard Business School on October 14-15, 2010. The Workhop was discussed in a previous blog posting on December 1, 2010.

FEE Factsheet on Integrated Reporting

Debates and developments around the concept of “integrated reporting” are growing in importance. According to the FEE (Fédération des Experts-comptables Européens - Federation of European Accountants), “integrated reporting is a holistic approach to enable investors and other stakeholders to understand how an organisation is really performing. Addressing the wider as well as longer-term consequences of decisions and actions, an integrated report makes clear the link between financial and non-financial value. The relationship between an organisation's strategy, governance and business model should be transparent through such reporting. It also gives an analysis of the impacts and interconnections of material opportunities, risks and performance across the value chain.” The FEE represents 45 professional institutes of accountants and auditors from 33 European countries, including all 27 EU Member States. (Read the FEE Factsheet on Integrated Reporting.

The whys behind sustainability

Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements is the most frequently cited driver of company sustainability initiatives in Canada, the UK and the US, according to a survey conducted jointly by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Managing risk to the reputation of the company brand was the next most likely response, followed by achieving competitive advantage and long-term profitability. Read the article “The whys behind sustainability” in CAmagazine online.