Update on Disclosure Initiative

The Disclosure Initiative is a portfolio of projects designed to improve how information is presented and disclosed in financial reports.

This update highlights the recent and upcoming activities in the Disclosure Initiative including:

• Materiality:
• Exposure Draft of the proposed Practice Statement; and
• aligning the definition and additional paragraphs for IAS 1
• Principles of Disclosure project
• aggregation of information;
• content of the notes;
• drafting of disclosure requirements;
• review of IAS 8;
• disclosure of accounting policies; and
• presentation on the face or in the notes.
• Next steps.

Materiality

Exposure Draft of the proposed Practice Statement

At its April 2015 meeting the IASB discussed a summary of the due process steps and instructed the staff to commence balloting the Exposure Draft of the Practice Statement Application of Materiality to Financial Statements (Agenda Paper 11A). The plan is to issue the Exposure Draft in Q3 of 2015.

Aligning the definition and additional paragraphs for IAS 1

At its April 2015 meeting the IASB tentatively decided that a general disclosure Standard (such as IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements or a replacement Standard) should include the proposed amendments to the definition of materiality and the clarifying paragraphs on the key characteristics of materiality (Agenda Paper 11B). The suggested new wording will be included in the Principles of Disclosure Discussion Paper.

Principles of disclosure project

Aggregation of information

At its April 2015 meeting the IASB tentatively decided that additional guidance is needed in a general disclosure Standard about:

1. when it is appropriate to aggregate information instead of presenting the items separately within a primary financial statement; and
2. when is it appropriate to aggregate, or otherwise summarise, information in the notes (Agenda Paper 11C).

Content of the notes

At its April 2015 meeting the IASB discussed how to describe the role and the content of the notes in a general disclosure Standard (Agenda Paper 11E). This discussion followed on from the previous paper at the October 2014 IASB meeting (Agenda Paper 11A(a)) regarding the role and the content of the notes.

In April, the IASB tentatively decided that a general disclosure Standard should include:

1. a description of the role of the notes; and
2. a central set of disclosure objectives based on the objective of Financial Statements and the role of the notes.

In addition, the IASB tentatively decided that the Discussion Paper should include two approaches for developing these objectives, either focusing on:

1. the different types of information disclosed in the notes; or
2. how users commonly assess the prospects for future net cash inflows to an entity and management’s stewardship of that entity’s resources.

In addition, at its June 2015 meeting the IASB staff will seek feedback from the Capital Markets Advisory Committee (CMAC) and the Global Preparers Forum (GPF), regarding the proposals on the role and content of the notes (Agenda Paper 5).

Drafting of disclosure requirements

At its April 2015 meeting the IASB discussed a proposed new approach to drafting the disclosure sections of Standards. The IASB staff have been working with the staff of the New Zealand Accounting Standards Board (NZASB) on these proposals (Agenda Paper 11F).

The proposed approach is based on a broad set of principles and objectives developed from the IASB’s discussions to date in the Conceptual Framework project and the Disclosure Initiative project (Agenda Paper 11I). The staff provided the IASB with the re-drafted disclosure requirements within IAS16 Property, Plant and Equipment (Agenda Paper 11G) and IFRS 3 Business Combinations (Agenda Paper 11H) to illustrate the application of the proposed approach.

The IASB tentatively decided to field test this proposed new approach with preparers, auditors, regulators and users in different jurisdictions.

Review of IAS 8

At its May 2015 meeting the IASB will discuss a paper prepared the Italian standard-setter (OIC) about possible amendments to IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors:

1. to clarify the existing distinction between a change in an accounting policy and a change in an accounting estimate (Agenda Paper 11A); and
2. to improve the current disclosure requirements when an entity changes an accounting estimate (Agenda Paper 11B).

The IASB will also be provided with a paper explaining the key findings from the surveys with preparers and investors conducted by the OIC, which forms the background to the changes proposed in Agenda Papers 11A and 11B (Agenda Paper 11C).

Disclosure of accounting policies

At its May 2015 meeting the IASB will continue its discussion regarding accounting policy disclosures, specifically on:

1. whether further guidance on the disclosure of accounting policies is necessary; and
2. if yes, what that further guidance should be (Agenda Paper 11D).

This discussion follows up from the previous paper at the September 2014 meeting (Agenda Paper 11A(c)) on accounting policy disclosures.

Presentation on the face or in the notes

At its May 2015 meeting the IASB will discuss whether a general disclosure Standard should:

1. require some specified line items to be presented in the primary financial statements; and
2. include disclosure requirements that give entities an ‘option’ to present information either in the primary financial statements or in the notes (Agenda Paper 11E).

Next steps

At its June 2015 meeting the IASB will discuss the following topics as part of its Proposed amendments to IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows project:

1. a summary of the feedback received for the Exposure Draft (proposed amendments to IAS 7);
2. an analysis on amendments arising from the Disclosure Initiative; and
3. a summary of the due process steps and a request for permission to ballot.

In June 2015, as part of its Principles of Disclosure project, the IASB will discuss the following topics:

1. review of IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors: transitional provisions;
2. non-IFRS information; and
3. comparability.

In addition, in June 2015 the IASB will discuss, in an education session, an ‘overview of Principles of Disclosure project’, which will include an overview of the potential amendments to IAS 1.

Further information

To register and listen to the recordings of the IASB’s May 2015 meeting, please click here.

To listen to the recordings of the IASB’s April 2015 meeting, please click here.

To register and listen to the recordings of the June 2015 meeting of IASB representatives with the CMAC & GPF, please click here.

Thank you for your interest in the Disclosure Initiative.