Accounting & Auditing Update

Foreign private issuers who file their financial statements following IFRS are getting some helpful tips from the SEC on how to do so in XBRL.

Accounting activity at publicly held financial institutions apparently is picking up to prepare for new requirements for the recognition of loan losses.

FASB has completed its annual update to the GAAP taxonomy and has added a new taxonomy for companies to consider addressing international standards.

The IASB has issued new standard on how to account for insurance contracts, considered among the most significant changes ever made to international accounting rules.

Companies that have struggled with navigating the U.S. GAAP Taxonomy to complete their XBRL filings will want to weigh in on the effort to make it more useable.

The SEC has given its final approval to the 2017 GAAP Taxonomy that public companies will use to prepare their XBRL financial statement exhibits.

The SEC has taken steps to advance the use and accuracy of digital financial statement data, proposing required use of inline XBRL and providing IFRS taxonomy.

Outgoing SEC Chair Mary Jo White is urging her successor to prioritize continued improvement and convergence of accounting standards globally. Tammy Whitehouse has more.

The International Federation of Accountants is pitching the G-20 to make a plug for international accounting and auditing standards when they meet in September. Tammy Whitehouse reports.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has made some changes to the Development Taxonomy for any early adopters of FASB’s new standard on the recognition and measurement of financial instruments, adding elements that companies can use in submitting their financial statements in XBRL. The newest guide is the latest in a series of guides provided by FASB staff to help explain how the Taxonomy is designed.

The SEC is considering making amendments to rules that would give domestic issuers the chance to provide IFRS-based information as a supplement to U.S. GAAP financial statements. At a recent conference, SEC Chair Mary Jo White said, “The staff has now developed a recommendation for the Commission’s consideration, which staff will be discussing with all of the commissioners so that we can determine the path forward.”

SEC chief accountant James Schnurr is distancing himself from an idea he floated last year that the Commission might allow U.S. companies an option to report under International Financial Reporting Standards. Schnurr says staff outreach revealed “little support” for that idea, essentially leaving convergence to standard setters. Details inside.

The SEC has approved FASB’s XBRL taxonomy for 2015 U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, clearing the way for companies to rely on it as early 2015 filers approach their financial statement filing dates and XBRL submissions. According to FASB, the 2015 Taxonomy contains far fewer changes than prior years. More inside.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is exploring whether to provide U.S. companies with the option to present their financial statements under International Financial Reporting Standards, SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr said last week. Schnurr is studying the staff’s historical work on a possible adoption of IFRS, and reaching out to stakeholders for current views.

The Securities and Exchange Commission may be preparing to put an end to the uncertainty about possible adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in the United States. SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr said at a recent conference that he plans to make a recommendation to the full Commission in the next few months. More inside.