IASB News
IFRS Foundation to Hold Annual Conference Virtually
The IFRS Foundation said it would combine two major annual conferences into one event and hold it virtually late September in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and work restrictions that have not yet fully lifted worldwide. The trustee organization’s annual conference will be combined with the annual World Standard-Setters conference and held September 28-29. The meetings are a unique opportunity for a broad array of accounting professionals worldwide to hear directly from IASB members about the latest developments in IFRS standards and major consultations taking place, according to the Foundation. The conference will offer interactive Q&A sessions—where delegates can ask presenters questions—panel discussions, and virtual networking opportunities with fellow delegates and speakers in a chatroom environment, it states. IASB chairman Hans Hoogervorst will provide the keynote address the first day of the conference. Presenters in subsequent panel discussions include IASB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd, IASB members Nick Anderson, Tadeu Cendon, Françoise Flores, Jianqiao Lu, Darrel Scott, Tom Scott, Rika Suzuki, Ann Tarca, Mary Tokar, as well as a number of the board’s senior technical staff.
GASB News
State and Local Governments Get Guidance for Reporting CARES Act Provisions
On July 2, GASB issued Technical Bulletin (TB) 2020-1 to clarify how to report transactions related to the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) under current government accounting rules. The TB addresses the application of recognition requirements of GASB Statements (GASBS) 33, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Nonexchange Transactions, GASBS 56, Codification of Accounting and Financial Reporting Guidance Contained in the AICPA Statements on Auditing Standards, and GASBS 70, Accounting and Financial Reports for Nonexchange Financial Guarantees, to financial distributions obtained from certain programs established by the CARES Act. It also clarifies presentation rules for certain inflows of CARES Act resources and the additional unplanned outflows of resources incurred in response to COVID-19. The guidance takes effect immediately.
Proposed Concepts Statement Addresses Elements of Financial Statements.
On June 30, GASB issued a proposed concepts statement on recognizing elements of financial statements—items such as assets and liabilities that get to the underlying economics of a transaction. The changes were proposed as GASB Exposure Draft 3-20, “Recognition of Elements of Financial Statements,” with a comment deadline that ends February 26, 2021. Under the proposal, a framework of interrelated objectives and fundamental principles would be established that the board would use to develop consistent accounting for recognizing elements of financial statements for state and local governments. The board proposed recognition concepts that encompass two aspects of state and local government financial statements:
- The measurement focus of a specific financial statement that determines which items should be reported as elements of that financial statement
- The related basis of accounting that determines when those items should be reported. This area also addresses both the economic resources measurement focus and accrual basis of accounting and the short-term financial resources measurement focus and accrual basis of accounting.
