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FEE Weekly EU Regulatory update
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Weekly update of EU Regulatory news for FEE Members
IAASB Seeks Global Views on Enhancing the Value of Auditor Reporting: The consultation paper of IAASB seeks to determine whether there are common views among users of audited financial statements and other stakeholders about the usefulness of auditor reporting. It describes issues with current financial reporting, including a perceived “information gap” identified by some stakeholders. It then sets out possible options for change and seeks input as to whether such options might be effective in enhancing auditor reporting and the communicative value of the auditor’s report. Comments on the Consultation Paper are requested by 16 September 2011. View
“European Company Law: The way forward”: The European Commission organised a 2-day conference to discuss key company law issues with a view to take stock of the state of play and reflecting on possible steps to take in the future. FEE CEO Olivier Boutellis-Taft was invited to speak in the break-out session on Tax and Company Law. He highlighted the obstacles to cross-border mobility resulting from the present chaos in national and European legislation in the areas of tax law and company law. Outlining the way forward he pointed out that a change in mindset and a holistic approach to policymaking together with consistent implementation and interpretation of EU law were essential. Supporting documents and the streaming of the plenary sessions are available at: View
Report of the Reflection Group on the Future of the EU Company Law: On the occasion of the above mentioned conference, the EC released the report of the Reflection Group. After the Winter Report (2003), this paper examines company law from three perspectives: Cross-border mobility – Contribution of governance and investors to long term viability of companies – Group of companies. It includes a number of recommendations which are sometimes quite different compared to the Winter report. View
22nd XBRL International Conference in Brussels: The conference taking place on 17-19 May provided a key opportunity to discuss recent developments on eXensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), a universal standard for business reporting. Speaking at the conference, Olivier Boutellis-Taft, FEE CEO, explained that XBRL potential outside of financial information deserved further consideration and that a robust cost-benefit analysis and strong leadership from relevant authorities was necessary to support widespread adoption in the EU as is happening in other parts of the world such as the USA and China. Commenting on the potential of XBRL to reduce administrative burdens, Pierre Delsaux, European Commission Director, Internal Market and Services, outlined the need to further harmonise accounting rules in the EU to facilitate cross-border investment in SMEs, the key driver of growth in the EU. View
ESMA Stakeholder Group: ESMA released the composition of its Securities and Markets Stakeholder Group. The candidature of Mr Hans van Damme sponsored by FEE has been agreed. Hans is presently Vice-president of the Supervisory Board of EFRAG and the former FEE President. View
IASB and FASB issue common fair value measurement and disclosure requirements: The two Boards issued new guidance on fair value measurement and disclosure requirements for IFRSs and US-GAAP. As far as IASB is concerned, the guidance is set out in IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement. The requirements do not extend the use of fair value accounting, but provide guidance on how it should be applied where its use is already required or permitted by other standards within IFRSs. View
Three new IFRSs on consolidation: As part of the convergence project with FASB, IASB completed its improvements to the accounting requirements for off balance sheet activities and joint arrangements by issuing IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements and IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities. The new standards are broadly aligning the IFRS standards with those used in the US. IFRS 10 provides additional guidance to assist in the determination of control where this is difficult to assess. IFRS 11 prohibits the proportionate consolidation method. IFRS 12 is a new and comprehensive standard on disclosure requirements for all forms of interests in other entities, including joint arrangements, associates, special purpose vehicles and other off balance sheet vehicles. View
EFRAG 2010 Annual Review: The EFRAG 2010 Annual Review has been published and is available for download. View
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