An exciting opportunity in the heart of Europe! We are looking for 2 experienced and enthusiastic IFRS Audit Experts to join our team. more...

 

 

In the second semester of 2013, Lithuania has the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Lithuania will focus on enhancing the EU’s abilities to provide adequate response to economic, financial, social and energy challenges. more...

 

For an analysis whether the European debate on audit policy will find a better way forward under the Lithuanian Presidency, please read the related FEE article. more...

 

The UK Competition Commission (CC) has published a provisional decision regarding potential remedies for its final report this autumn on the supply of statutory audit services to large companies in the UK. The remedy package includes measures to improve the bargaining power of companies and encourage competition between audit firms; measures to enhance the influence of the Audit Committee; and measures to promote shareholder engagement in the audit process. Although they do not plan to include mandatory audit firm rotation, they will propose that FTSE 350 companies should put their statutory audit engagement out to tender at least every five years. more...

 

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched a consultation on Guidelines on the enforcement of financial information published by listed entities in the European Union. The Guidelines aim to strengthen and promote greater supervisory convergence in existing enforcement practices amongst EU national authorities. Deadline: 15 October 2013 more... FEE will respond.
 

G20 finance ministers showed commitment to better tackle tax evasion and corporate tax avoidance worldwide. more... They endorsed the OECD’s Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which offers a global roadmap that should help governments to collect the tax revenue they need to serve their citizens. more... 

Commissioner Šemeta welcomed both the OECD’s Action Plan and the G20 Finance Ministers’ commitment as the right approach to curbing corporate tax avoidance worldwide. more... 

In their joint letter to the 28 EU Heads of State and Government, the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council have highlighted that consistency and co-ordination between the EU and the OECD should be ensured with a view to develop internationally agreed standards. more...

Complementing its Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting by companies, the OECD provided G20 finance ministers also with a proposal to increase international tax cooperation and transparency through the promotion of automatic exchange of information between jurisdictions. more...

A proposed Directive on automatic exchange of information is already in the legislative process on EU level. more...

 

The Council of the European Union adopted two directives that will enable Member States to better combat VAT fraud: The Quick Reaction Mechanism will make it possible for EU Member States to take immediate measures in cases of sudden and massive VAT fraud and the Reverse Charge Mechanism will allow Member States to apply on a temporary basis a reversal of the liability of VAT payment to predetermined categories of goods and services. more...

 

Suggesting some amendments, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the European Commission’s proposed Financial Transaction Tax Directive. Within the special legislative procedure for enhanced cooperation of 11 Member States, the European Parliament has only a consultative role. more...

 

The OECD has published a White Paper on Transfer Pricing Documentation, more..., and the Revised Discussion Draft on the Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles, more..., both open for comments by 1 October 2013.

 

After the opinion of the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON), more..., the Committee on Development (DEVE) has also issued its opinion on the European Commission’s proposed Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, suggesting some amendments. more... FEE has contributed to the review process, more..., and is now analysing the European Parliament’s opinions and will comment where appropriate.
 

In its opinion on the European Commission’s Communication on Smart regulation - Responding to the needs of SMEs, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) acknowledges the role of Impact Assessments as a key element of SME policy making at EU level and welcomes the establishment of an annual SME scoreboard making it possible to track specific measures throughout the decision making cycle. more...

 

The IFRS Foundation has issued its updated Fact Sheet on the IFRS for SMEs summarising activities since the IFRS for SMEs was published in July 2009. more...

 

The European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) approved the trilogue agreement of the European Parliament and the Council on the modernisation of the Professional Qualifications Directive. The proposed Directive includes easier recognition, traineeships, common training frameworks and knowledge of languages. The vote in the European Parliament’s plenary is foreseen for October 2013. For FEE’s contribution to the review process view.

 

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) Exposure Draft, Reporting on Audited Financial Statements: Proposed New and Revised International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), responds to calls from investors, analysts, and other users of audited financial statements to provide more relevant information in the auditor’s report. Deadline: 22 November 2013 more... At a time when the discussions on audit policy in the Council with EU Member States are still ongoing, these IAASB proposals on auditor reporting merit significant attention since they further support the views of the European Parliament in respect of auditor reporting. FEE will comment.
 

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released its Post-Implementation Review, a report that highlights the results of the IAASB’s efforts to learn whether the clarified International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) are being consistently understood and implemented. more...

 

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published a Discussion Paper exploring possible changes to the IASB’s Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting. Deadline: 14 January 2014 more... FEE will respond.

 

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Exposure Drafts for the accounting for Insurance Contracts, more..., (deadline 25 October 2013) and for Leases, more..., (deadline 13 September 2013) are still open for public comment. FEE will respond.
 

The review of IFRS 8 concluded that the Standard was generally functioning as anticipated, although the report highlighted some areas where further targeted improvements could be made. more...

 

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board's (IPSASB) Recommended Practice Guidelines provide guidance on reporting on the long-term sustainability of a public sector entity’s finances (Guideline 1) and on financial statement discussion and analysis (Guideline 2). more...

 

The International Accounting Education Standards Board’s (IAESB) Exposure Draft, 2014-2016 IAESB Strategy and Work Plan, focuses on projects and activities aimed at providing adoption and implementation guidance on the revised International Education Standards. Deadline: 4 October 2013. more... FEE will respond.

 

In its conference call on 16 July 2013, the FEE Board discussed audit policy (see also upcoming events) and corporate reporting matters and welcomed updates on the FEE SMP Forum, the joint FEE/Transparency International Breakfast Briefing on Anti-Money Laundering and the forthcoming FEE Tax Conference. It also approved a number of comment letters featured in the section FEE recent publications.

 

The FEE President spoke at the 23rd Forum of Professional Auditors in Spain, Sitges on  5 July 2013.

The FEE CEO exchanged views with CNCC, the Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes, a FEE Member from France.

FEE representatives visited the Institute of Certified Accountants of Montenegro which has applied for Associate FEE Membership.

In July 2013, the FEE Insurance Working Party discussed the IASB Exposure Draft on Insurance Contracts and the EIOPA Guidelines on External Audit of Solvency II.
 

International Press
 

Accountants in the US have welcomed the passage of a bill that will prevent public companies from being forced to rotate their auditors. Source: AccountancyAge more...