A group of National Standard-Setters in Asian-Oceanian Region

AOSSG member standard-setters from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore and Syria met briefly with members and staff of the IASB on the afternoon of 28 September 2014 in London.

The meeting mainly discussed AOSSG members’ preliminary views on the IASB’s tentative decisions in relation to the Conceptual Framework and Insurance Contracts projects, and the IASB Discussion Paper Accounting for Dynamic Risk Management: a Portfolio Revaluation Approach to Macro Hedging.

The AOSSG congratulates Ms Kris Peach for her appointment as incoming Chair of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). Ms Peach was previously involved in AOSSG activities during her term as Deputy Chair of the AASB (2011-2013). AOSSG members look forward to continuing to work with Ms Peach in her new role with the aim of continuing to promote high quality financial reporting within Asia-Oceania.

At the same time, AOSSG members express their utmost gratitude to Mr Kevin Stevenson, the outgoing AASB Chairman, for his contributions to the AOSSG particularly during his term as the AOSSG Chair (November 2011-2013). AOSSG members have had great pleasure in working with Mr Stevenson and are very grateful for his leadership and support of AASB's contribution to the AOSSG.

On 25-26 September 2014, the AOSSG Chair, Mr Clement Chan; AOSSG member standard-setters: Mr Angus Thomson, Acting-Chairman of the Australian Accounting Standards Board; Mr Guangzhong Liu and Mr Jianqiao Lu, respectively the Director-General and Director of the Accounting Regulatory Department, Ministry of Finance China; and Mr Yukio Ono, Chairman of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan; and eight other members of the IASB Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) met with representatives of the IASB in London.

The ASAF discussed:

• ASAF members’ views on the next steps of the Disclosure Initiative project, specifically in relation to Principles of Disclosure, Amendments to IAS 1, and Materiality;
• ASAF members' views on participating features in insurance contracts and the practical issues relating to transition;
• the feedback received in relation to: the respective IASB and FASB post-implementation reviews (PIR) on business combinations; a research paper prepared by EFRAG, and the Italian and Japanese national standard-setters on goodwill and amortisation; a survey conducted by the UK Financial Reporting Council on intangible assets and amortisation; and ASAF members’ views on the next steps of the IASB’s PIR;
• ASAF members’ views on the IASB’s tentative decisions on the Conceptual Framework project, specifically in relation to the measurement chapter;
• the IASB’s recent tentative decisions on the Leases project;
• the scope of the IASB Equity/Liabilities research project; and
• local issues relating to the determination of an appropriate discount rate.

In November 2012, the Accounting Standards Board, Nepal (ASB) and the AOSSG agreed to establish a two-year pilot IFRS Center of Excellence (IFRS CoE) in Kathmandu, Nepal, as part of the AOSSG's initiative to building regional standard-setting capacity. The purpose of the IFRS CoE is consistent with the AOSSG’s objectives; including, in particular, promoting the adoption of, and convergence with, IFRSs by jurisdictions in the region.

One of the initiatives of the IFRS CoE in Nepal is a review of the processes employed by the ASB in setting standards to identify areas in which improvements could be suggested.  The AOSSG's Report on Standard-Setting Capacity in Nepal outlines the observations from the review and provides recommendations based on the experience of other AOSSG members that may help develop further the ASB's standard-setting capacity.

Other initiatives of the IFRS CoE in Nepal, for example, the train-the-trainer sessions for members, staff and selected people of the ASB are underway.

AOSSG members participated in a series of meetings in Tokyo on 5 - 6 June 2014.

Meeting with the IASB

A meeting between AOSSG members from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore and IASB representatives was held on 5 June 2014 in Tokyo.

AOSSG members provided input on their findings on the implementation of IFRS 3 Business Combinations. Common implementation challenges highlighted by members include the following:

• The distinction between an asset purchase and a business combination can be difficult to determine in particular industries (for example, real estate, mining and agricultural activities);
• The identification of intangible assets separately from goodwill and determining the fair value of those intangible assets;
• The practical and cost/benefit issues involving the subsequent measurement of goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives acquired in a business combination; and
• The lack of guidance on how to prepare information such as, paragraph B64(q)(ii) of IFRS 3 requires disclosure of revenue and profit or loss of the combined entity for the current reporting period as if the transaction had taken place at the beginning of the year.  Some members also question the usefulness of providing this information in the financial report.

In addition, the meeting discussed the latest developments of the IASB projects such as IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers , IFRS 9 Financial Instruments , leases, conceptual framework and agriculture (bearer plant).

IFRS Seminar

The Accounting Standards Board of Japan and the Asia-Oceania office of the IFRS Foundation hosted an IFRS Seminar on 6 June 2014 in Tokyo to discuss recent IASB activities. The seminar was attended by securities regulators, representatives of Japanese entities and AOSSG member standard-setters from Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. The seminar covered topics such as IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers , IFRS 9 Financial Instruments , leases and macro hedge accounting. The role of the IFRS Interpretations Committee was also discussed at the seminar. The AOSSG Chair, Mr. Clement Chan, who attended the seminar, highlighted the AOSSG's current and ongoing activities, and explained how AOSSG members work together with an aim of continuing to promote improved financial reporting within the Asia-Oceania region.

The IASB held its 5th Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) on 2-3 June 2014 in London. Mr Clement Chan, Chair of the AOSSG; Mr Kevin Stevenson, Chairman of the Australian Accounting Standards Board; Mr Guangzhong Liu and Mr Jianqiao Lu, respectively Director-General and Director of the Accounting Regulatory Department, Ministry of Finance China; Mr Yukio Ono, Chairman of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan; and eight other members of the IASB's ASAF participated at the meeting.

The ASAF discussed:

• the scope and direction of the IASB's research projects on Equity Method of Accounting and Business Combinations Under Common Control;
• the use of a business model notion in the Conceptual Framework;
• the need to discuss executory contracts in the Conceptual Framework;
• ASAF members' views on the staff proposed accounting for participating features in insurance contracts;
• ASAF members' initial views on the IASB Discussion Paper Accounting for Dynamic Risk Management: a Portfolio Revaluation Approach to Macro Hedging; and
• how the recent or current initiatives for presentation and disclosure in ASAF members' jurisdictions can inform the scope and prioritisation of the IASB’s projects on Principles of Disclosure and Materiality that form part of the Disclosure Initiative.

A detailed summary of this ASAF meeting will be published on the IASB website shortly.

The AOSSG congratulates Mr Yukio Ono for his appointment as incoming Chair of the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ). AOSSG members look forward to working with Mr Ono in his new role with the aim of continuing to promote improved financial reporting within Asia-Oceania.

At the same time, AOSSG members express their utmost gratitude to Mr Ikuo Nishikawa, the outgoing ASBJ Chairman, for his contributions to the AOSSG over his term at the ASBJ and as the AOSSG Chair in 2010/2011. AOSSG members have had great pleasure in working with Mr Nishikawa and are very grateful for his leadership and support of ASBJ's contribution to the AOSSG.

The Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) in collaboration with the IFRS Foundation and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) is conducting a two-day workshop on the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in July 2009. The workshop will be held on 30 June and 1 July 2014 at Hotel Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur, 2 Jalan Stesen Sentral , Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In February 2014, the MASB issued a new financial reporting framework for private entities called the Malaysian Private Entities Reporting Standards (MPERS) which is word-for-word the IFRS for SMEs except for the requirements on income tax and property development activities and some terminology differences. The MPERS takes effect for financial statements for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2016.

The workshop will provide an insight for private entities into the requirements for IFRS for SMEs and will be helpful for those seeking to develop their capacity to provide subsequent training to others on MPERS or IFRS for SMEs .