FASB News
Meeting with Japanese Board Addresses Wide Range of Issues
FASB used its most recent meeting with the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ), held July 24–25, to address a range of international accounting issues. The boards updated one another on their activities and discussed their efforts on the projects for the Conceptual Framework, performance reporting and disclosure requirements, revenue recognition, the equity method of accounting, and rate-regulated activities, such as those carried out by utilities or transit system operators. “This exchange of ideas helps us identify opportunities to improve and achieve greater comparability in our standards for the benefit of our respective stakeholders and investors worldwide,” FASB Chairman Russell Golden said in a statement. The boards plan to hold their next session in January 2018 in Tokyo.
IASB News
SME Implementation Group Reappoints 15 Members
On July 28, the IFRS Foundation, the IASB’s parent organization, said that 15 members of the SME Implementation Group (SMEIG) were reappointed to their second three-year terms, ending in June 2020. The reappointed members include five from Asia and the Middle East, three each from Africa, Latin America, and Europe, and one from Australia. The SMEIG advises the IASB regarding the IFRS for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) standard and develops interpretive and implementation guidance for it. The IASB limits its reviews and revisions of the SME guidance to a triennial schedule to minimize the disruption to the companies and organizations that follow it. The board is scheduled to conduct its next review of the standard in 2019.
AICPA News
Attestation Guide for Sustainability Information Published
On July 27, the AICPA published a guide to help accountants examine sustainability information. The guide comes at a time when a growing number of professional investors, fund managers, and securities analysts are evaluating sustainability information as part of their investment decisions, and, the AICPA said, more investors believe the information should be subject to independent examination by an external auditor. “Licensed CPAs have provided high-value sustainability assurance services under general attestation standards for decades, but until now there was no subject matter–specific application guidance covering areas other than reporting on greenhouse gas emissions,” Susan Coffey, the AICPA’s executive vice president for public practice, said in a statement.
