Website of the Month: Ernst & Young’s IFRS Resources
By Anders, Susan B | |
Proquest LLC |
Emst & Young's (EY) IFRS website (http://www.ey.eom/U S/en/Issues/ IFRS) contains a wealth of free resources on current IFRS topics, available to both EY's clients and the general public. The website provides background information and practical guidance on recent developments; its target audience includes financial statement preparers, controllers, and audit committee members.
Information is organized according to current IFRS project topic, resource type, and industry sector. Materials (generally available as PDFs) range from short summaries, to webcasts, to detailed discussions with examples. Coverage of current and proposed standards includes revenue recognition, leases, financial instruments, consolidation, and insurance contracts. The "industry insights" section of the website provides IFRS resources targeted to key industry sectors.
EY's IFRS "core tools" are resources designed to help users identify recent changes and begin assessing how to apply them. The toolbox includes IFRS updates, illustrative financial statements, industry-specific materials, and international GAAP disclosure checklists. The
The
The international GAAP disclosure checklist can assist in financial statement presentations by showing the required and suggested disclosures, as well as summarizing IFRS guidance. The checklist addresses all elements of financial statement disclosure, including required statements, first-time adoption, and specific notes to the financial statements. The basic online checklist, free with registration, can be customized. (For online and PDF checklists, see http://www.ey.com/GL/en/ Issues/IFRS/IFRS-disclosure-checklists.)
The checklist identifies more than 500 disclosure requirements, which are numbered, labeled as "new" if applicable, and tied to the related IFRS standard. For example, under general requirements, the first disclosure checklist item comes from IAS 1.49 and asks whether "the financial statements [are] identified clearly (using an unambiguous title) and distinguished from other information in the same document." Under components of cash and cash equivalents, item 89 pertains to IAS 7.45 and asks whether "the entity disclose [s] the components of cash and cash equivalents." Item 107, under notes to the financial statements, complies with IAS 1.112 and asks whether "the notes to the financial statements disclose the basis of preparation of the financial statements."
Publications
IFRS Outlook. This bimonthly newsletter covers the activities of the IASB and IFRIC. The
IFRS developments. This section of the website announces significant decisions and summarizes IASB and IFRIC discussion papers, exposure drafts, final standards, and interpretations in a high-level overview. A recent development from
Applying IFRS. This webpage provides more detailed information on proposals, standards, and interpretations, and it discusses how to apply the pronouncements. Publications are presented in a table that can be sorted by topic, title, industry sector, and date. One article, "Challenges in Adopting and Applying IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements," describes the consolidated reporting requirements. It covers exemption from the standard, the new definition of control, an investor's power to control, an investor's exposure to variable returns, the link between power and returns, consolidation procedures, disclosures, and other related topics. A variety of IFRS industry publications can also be found in the "other publications" section (http://www.ey. com/U S/en/Issues/IFRS/Issues_GL_IFRS_ NAV_Publications).
Other Resources
The IFRS versus local GAAP comparison guides provide an overview of the major similarities and differences between the two sets of standards. US GAAP versus IFRS: The Basics (available in webpage format or as a PDF) covers several issues, including required financial statements and statement format, consolidation, business combinations, inventory, longlived assets, and intangible assets. Longer discussions are provided on the hot topics of financial instruments, leases, and revenue recognition. Shorter comparisons address foreign currency, income taxes, and several other areas.
For users looking for a quick update, EY provides brief overview materials in the form of a pocket guide and an IASB/FASB joint project booklet (found in the "Overview of IFRS Projects" section). The pocket guide covers active projects with a table of timelines, a discussion of key developments and implications, and the status of amendments. The background, scope, key features, and transition information are briefly described for each project as well. The
"Joint project watch" summarizes the current IASB/FASB joint projects from an IFRS perspective. Each topic includes background information, a timeline, previous key developments, next steps, and links to specific EY publications. Lists of previously completed and inactive joint projects are presented at the end of the publication, along with a summary timeline of active projects.
EY also offers a variety of "thought center" webcasts and podcasts. For those interested in international topics, the international tax talk quarterly series is available with free registration; live webcasts eligible for continuing professional education (CPE) credit are also available. The November tax talk presentation addressed tax reforms in
Copyright: | (c) 2014 New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants |
Wordcount: | 1228 |
Retirement Plans for Small Business Owners
Wilderness therapy redefines itself
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News