IASB holds meeting dedicated to COVID-19 issues

17 April 2020

In advance of its regular meeting next week, the IASB held a supplementary IASB meeting today to consider COVID-19-related matters: the Board's timelines in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and accounting for COVID-19-related rent concessions.

On the Board's timelines in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the staff recommended that the Board:

1. (a)delay by one year the effective date of Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-Current (Amendments to IAS 1) to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023.
2. (b)extend the consultation period by (approximately) three months for the following consultation documents:
   • the Exposure Draft General Presentation and Disclosures;
   • the Request for Information Comprehensive Review of the IFRS for SMEs Standard; and
   • the Discussion Paper Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment.

All Board members agreed with the staff recommendations and also agreed that the exposure draft on delaying the effective date of the IAS 1 amendments should have a comment period of 30 days. The Board gave the permission to begin the balloting process for the exposure draft and no Board member intends to dissent.

On accounting for COVID-19-related rent concessions, the staff recommended that the Board amend IFRS 16 to provide lessees with an exemption from assessing whether a COVID-19-related rent concession is a lease modification. Entities applying the exemption would account for the changes as if they were not lease modifications. The exemption would have to be applied retrospectively but comparative figures would not be restated. A lessee would recognise any difference arising on initial application of the amendment in opening retained earnings (or other component of equity, as appropriate) in the annual reporting period that includes the date of initial application.

All Board members agreed with the staff recommendations and also agreed that the exemption would be effective immediately, when the final amendment is issued. The Board will ask the Trustees to approve a comment period of 14 days. The Board gave the permission to begin the balloting process for the exposure draft and no Board member intends to dissent.