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

ASAF meeting July 2015

The IASB held its ninth Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) meeting on 16-17 July 2015 in London with its revised membership. 

The AOSSG Chair, Mr Clement Chan; AOSSG member standard-setters: Ms Kris Peach, Chair of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and Member of the New Zealand Accounting Standards Board (NZASB); Mr Jianqiao Lu, Director of the Accounting Regulatory Department, Ministry of Finance China (MOFC); and 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 AASB and NZASB's ideas for the release pattern of the contractual service margin and the modification of the accounting policy choice for presenting the effect of changes in discount rates in profit or loss or other comprehensive income;
• members' initial views on the recognition and derecognition proposals that are included in the IASB's Conceptual Framework exposure draft, and EFRAG's paper on the distinction between profit or loss and other comprehensive income;
• members' views on the existing/possible problems with IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets and the objectives and strategies of the IASB's research project that aims to improve IAS 37;
• members' views on the content of the IASB's forthcoming discussion paper on the Principles of Disclosures;
• members' views on the IASB's tentative decisions on the approach to its project on Accounting for Dynamic Risk Management: a Portfolio Revaluation Approach to Macro Hedging;
• the MOFC's proposed model for the accounting of emissions trading and members' views on the IASB staff's findings on the present accounting approaches for cap-and-trade schemes;
• members' views on the IASB's tentative decisions from its May 2015 meeting in relation to rate-regulated activities; and
• members' views on the next steps of the IASB's project on Discount Rates.

The ASAF also received an update on the IASB's forthcoming exposure draft on the clarifications to IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers, the IASB's standard-setting and research agendas, and the IASB's proposed future ASAF agendas.

Reappointment to the IASB Accounting Standards Advisory Forum

The AOSSG, along with its members: the Accounting Standards Board of Japan; the Australian Accounting Standards Board (who will work closely with the New Zealand Accounting Standards Board to provide a collective Australia and New Zealand view); and the Chinese Accounting Standards Committee have been reappointed as members of the IASB's next Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF).

The AOSSG’s reappointment on ASAF is a recognition of the hard work of our members as a group and the AOSSG’s contributions to the work of the IASB.  The AOSSG's ASAF Working Party and its secretariat, and AOSSG's Working Group Leaders, will continue to support the AOSSG representative on ASAF.

Joint HKICPA and IFRS Foundation IFRS Conference, 12 – 13 October 2015

The Hong Kong Institute of CPAs (HKICPA) and the IFRS Foundation will jointly host an IFRS Conference on 12-13 October at the JW Marriott Hotel, Hong Kong.

The conference will focus on live implementation plans for IFRS 9 Financial Instruments from the perspective of both financial and non-financial institutions, IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers and the upcoming standards on leases and insurance contracts, as well as discussion on the need and methods for better disclosures and on cross-cutting implications of IFRS measurements.

At the event, IASB Chairman, Vice Chairman and Members will also give an update on active projects and future plans in financial reporting, covering conceptual framework, macro hedging, rate-regulated activities, implementation projects and research projects.

Following the conference, a half-day workshop on implementing the IFRS for SMEs will be held on 13 October afternoon, which will cover case studies of the IFRS for SMEs application in Hong Kong.

Following the conference, a half-day workshop on implementing the IFRS for SMEs will be held on 13 October afternoon, which will cover case studies of the IFRS for SMEs application in Hong Kong.

Enquiries and registration:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The IASB held its eight Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) meeting on 26-27 March 2015 in London. The AOSSG Chair, Mr Clement Chan; AOSSG member standard-setters: Ms Kris Peach, Chair 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 (ASBJ); and seven other members of the IASB's ASAF participated at the meeting.

The ASAF discussed:

• the ASBJ's views on the different measurement bases proposed for the Conceptual Framework and the information that those measurement bases provide;
• the ASBJ's views on the use of OCI for the presentation of unearned profits in relation to contractual service margins, and the transition relief on initial application of the new Insurance Contracts standard after the implementation of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments;
• the IASB’s recommendations arising from the Post-implementation Review of IFRS 3 Business Combinations;
• the role of the primary financial statements and the IASB's materiality practice statement under the Disclosure Initiative project;
• the historical and current accounting practice in Canada for business combinations under common control (BCUCC), the IASB's findings from its BCUCC outreach and IASB staff's proposed accounting for specific types of BCUCC transactions;
• the scope, and examples and consequences of the IASB's Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity project;
• the developments of the joint IASB/FASB Revenue Transition Resource Group, including ASAF members' views on the deferral of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers;
• the IASB's proposed approach in addressing the issues identified with the equity method of accounting; and
• the next steps of the Leases project.

AOSSG Strategic Plan 2015 - 2019

The AOSSG has published its strategic plan for 2015-2019. This papers describes the key AOSSG activities as well as other activities that will be considered in the following years.

AOSSG Office Bearer News

The AOSSG congratulates Mr Djohan Pinnarwan for his appointment as incoming Chair of the Indonesian Financial Accounting Standards Board (Dewan Standar Akuntansi Keuangan – DSAK IAI). AOSSG members look forward to working with Mr Pinnarwan 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 Ms Rosita Uli Sinaga, the outgoing Chair of DSAK IAI, for her contributions to the AOSSG over her term at the DSAK IAI. AOSSG members have had great pleasure in working with Ms Sinaga and are very grateful for her support of AOSSG activities.

FebruaryThe Korea Accounting Review International Symposium (KARIS), co-hosted by the Korean Accounting Association (KAA) and the Korea Accounting Standards Board (KASB), will be held in Seoul on 31 March 2015. At this symposium, participants will have an opportunity to discuss the effects of IFRS adoption, accounting information and firm value.

Speakers include Hans Hoogervorst, chairman of the IASB, James Ohlson, professor at New York University and world renowned scholar in valuation, and other prominent presenters from Japan and Taiwan.

• Time and Date: 2pm - 6pm, Tuesday 31 March, 2015
• Venue: Conference Room, 2/F, Financial Supervisory Service

  (38 Yeoui-daero, Youngdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 150-743)

• Organizer: Korean Accounting Association (KAA) & Korea Accounting Standards Board (KASB)
• Sponsor: Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) & The Korea Economic Daily

More details on the symposium are available here.

If you have queries about the symposium, please contact:

Hyejung Lee (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Won-Hee Han (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The IASB held its seventh Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) meeting on 4-5 December 2014 in London. The AOSSG Chair, Mr Clement Chan; AOSSG member standard-setters: Ms Kris Peach, Chair 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 seven other members of the IASB's ASAF participated at the meeting.

The ASAF discussed:

• accounting issues associated with the equity method for the IASB's consideration when pursuing its research project on the topic;
• ASAF members' preliminary views on the IASB's Discussion Paper in relation to Rate-Regulated Activities;
• ASAF members’ views on the presentation of cash paid on capital expenditure, the presentation of interest in the cash flow statement, and line item disclosures;
• accounting issues associated with emission trading schemes (ETS) in ASAF members' jurisdictions or regions for the IASB's consideration when pursuing its ETS research project;
• the scope and approach of the IASB's post-employment benefit research project, particularly on 'contribution-based promises';
• a proposal by the Group of Latin American Standard Setters on the recognition of high inflation effects on financial statements;
• the IASB’s recent tentative decisions on the Leases and the Insurance Contracts projects;
• how national standard-setters could contribute to the debate of foreign currency translation. IASB staff acknowledged plans to use the Korea Accounting Standards Board's research papers on the topic when they undertake the research project;
• the next steps for the IASB's Dynamic Risk Management project; and
• the current IASB work plan and the focus of the 2015 IASB agenda consultation.

The AOSSG's IFRS Centre of Excellence (COE) for a Developing Country Working Party has accomplished its targeted activities after two years for establishing a pilot IFRS COE initiative in Nepal.

Those activities involve a review of the standard-setting processes and capacity of the Accounting Standards Board, Nepal and a series of Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programs in Kathmandu.

Photos are available here