This summary of Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) decisions has been prepared for information purposes only. Decisions reported are tentative and reflect only the current status of discussion on projects, which may change after further deliberations by the Board. Decisions to publish Handbook material are final only after a formal ballot process.
The AcSB will respond to change and reprioritize when necessary, ensuring we can address implementation challenges and provide the information users may need in these unique circumstances.
The AcSB values input and feedback from interests and affected parties and can be reached anytime through our online form.
IFRS® Accounting Standards
Climate-related and Other Uncertainties in the Financial Statements
The AcSB received an education session on the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) Exposure Draft, “Climate-related and Other Uncertainties in the Financial Statements,” and discussed key points to include in its response. The IASB’s Exposure Draft was issued on July 31, 2024, and comments are due November 28, 2024. In developing the key points to include in its response, the Board considered feedback from a wide range of interested and affected parties, including users, preparers, practitioners, and academics. The Board discussed the need to consider materiality from the perspective of the primary users of the financial statements in applying the IASB’s proposals.
The AcSB will consider further feedback from outreach with interested and affected parties in the coming weeks, including from its public roundtable on September 19, 2024, and responses to its wraparound Exposure Draft (due October 11, 2024). The Board will review and approve its draft response letter at its October 16, 2024, meeting and will submit the final letter to the IASB by the November 28, 2024, deadline.
Standards for Private Enterprises
Detailed Review of Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises
The AcSB continued its discussions on its detailed review of Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (ASPE). The discussion focused on feedback received at the July 2024 meetings of its Private Enterprise Advisory Committee, Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee, and Small Practitioners Working Group on the Board’s approach to scoping the issues to consider through this project, and the identified issues for the Part II of the CPA Canada Handbook ̶ ASPE standards for inventories, asset retirement obligations, and financial instruments. The feedback supported the scoping approach approved by the Board at its June 2024 meeting.
The AcSB also provided input on the information needed on the second batch of Part II standards, which includes the standards on impairment of long-lived assets, leases, and related party transactions. This second batch of standards will be discussed at the October and November 2024 meetings of the Private Enterprise Advisory Committee, the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee, and the Small Practitioners Working Group. The Board will consider this feedback at a future meeting as it works to develop a consultation paper for this project.
Related Party Combinations
The AcSB continued discussing narrow-scope proposals to be included in an exposure draft to address an application question from practice regarding the amendments issued in September 2023 to Section 3840, Related Party Transactions, in Part II of the Handbook.
These amendments added an option in paragraph 3840.44(b) to either retrospectively restate all prior periods when carrying values are used to account for a combination, or prospectively account for these transactions from the date that the transfer occurred. The application question asked which comparative figures, if any, should be presented when an enterprise applies the new option to account for the combination prospectively from the date the transfer occurred.
The AcSB tentatively decided to propose a narrow-scope amendment that would allow an option in paragraph 3840.44(b)(i) to account for the combined enterprise as either a new entity or as a continuation of one of the combining entities when the combination is accounted for prospectively. The Board discussed that this would allow preparers to consider the information needs of its financial statement users and provide information that is relevant and decision useful.
The AcSB will seek further input on the exposure draft proposals from its Private Enterprise Advisory Committee and Small Practitioners Working Group in October 2024. The Board will consider input from the Committee and the Group, and will continue discussing the proposals at its October 2024 meeting. The Board plans to issue an exposure draft in the last quarter of 2024.
Agriculture
The AcSB discussed feedback from its Agriculture Advisory Group on application issues related to Section 3041, Agriculture, to determine whether there is a need to conduct a post-implementation review. In accordance with its Due Process Manual, the Board typically decides whether a post-implementation review is needed after a two-year period from when a new standard becomes effective.
The Agriculture Advisory Group provided the following feedback:
- Many agricultural producers continue to encounter operational challenges with providing the disclosures required by paragraphs 3041.88(c) and 3041.88(d) when agricultural inventories are measured using the net realizable value model. Furthermore, the Group noted that these disclosures do not provide useful information to financial statement users.
- Itwould be helpful to clarify how agricultural producers determine productive capacity, particularly for productive biological assets managed on a collective basis, to achieve more consistency in the application of paragraphs 3041.64 and 3041.66.
- There have been inquiries on applying the impairment requirements in Section 3063, Impairment of Long-lived Assets, but the industry may be developing experience with applying these requirements to productive biological assets.
The AcSB decided not to conduct a post-implementation review of Section 3041 given the limited issues raised, which suggest that the standard is generally understandable and is being applied as intended. Instead, the Board thought it would be more responsive to interested and affected parties to commence a standard-setting project to address the issues identified, since a post-implementation review is not a standard-setting project. Accordingly, the Board approved a project proposal to address the following narrow-scope application issues:
- Remove the disclosure requirements in paragraphs 3041.88(c) and 3041.88(d) for the net realizable value model. The disclosure requirement in paragraph 3041.88(d) also exists in paragraph 3041.86(d) for the cost model, and in paragraph 3031.35(c) of Section 3031, Inventories. Therefore, the AcSB will explore as part of this project whether the same concerns exist with these paragraphs, which would warrant removing them. This would also maintain internal consistency of the complete set of Part II standards.
- Clarify the application of paragraphs 3041.64 and 3041.66 through developing additional guidance on how agricultural producers determine productive capacity to help with application in practice.
The AcSB will seek input on the development of the exposure draft proposals from its Agriculture Advisory Group, Private Enterprise Advisory Committee, and Small Practitioners Working Group, and will consider their input at its meeting in December 2024.
The AcSB values input and feedback from interested and affected parties and welcomes them to comment on the Board’s decision through this online form if they think that a post-implementation review should be conducted for Section 3041.
Amendments to Other Frameworks
The AcSB discussed the impact of recent amendments to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments on Section 3856 Financial Instruments associated with the derecognition of financial liabilities settled using electronic payment systems. The Board understands that this amendment is expected to impact other transactions in addition to those settled electronically. Notwithstanding the changes to IFRS, there have been no changes to ASPE. Therefore, the Board does not expect changes in how these transactions are being accounted for in Canada by entities applying Section 3856. The Board directed staff to discuss this issue with its Private Enterprise Advisory Committee and Small Practitioners Working Group at an upcoming meeting.
Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations
Contributions
The AcSB continued discussing proposals to be included in its new exposure draft on recognition of restricted contributions and related matters. As part of this discussion, the Board considered input from its Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee and targeted outreach with 94 interested and affected parties, as well as results from a survey completed by 237 respondents. This input and the Board’s discussion focused on potential areas for improvement in the restricted fund method of recognizing contribution revenue, fund accounting presentation, and the definition of “endowments”.
Deferral method when applying the restricted fund method
The AcSB discussed the use of the deferral method for recognizing restricted contributions in the general fund when applying the restricted fund method. Board members generally agreed that contributions restricted as to purpose should be recognized immediately in a restricted fund when received or receivable. The Board also considered whether contributions available for general purposes but restricted to use in a future period should be recognized in an unrestricted (general) fund or in a restricted fund. Board members agreed that recognizing contributions available for general purposes in a restricted fund could cause reporting issues. Board members also thought that these contributions should be recognized as contribution revenue in the period available for use. The Board will continue developing proposals that will require recognition of all contributions restricted for a specified purpose in a restricted fund and recognition of contributions toward general purposes in an unrestricted (general) fund in the period they are available for use.
Consistency of funds presented
The AcSB discussed developing proposals to provide guidance on the funds to present on the statement of operations when applying fund accounting presentation. Board members supported an approach where funds would be classified into the categories of unrestricted, restricted, and endowment; however, they noted that some flexibility may be necessary to allow organizations to present information in a way that is useful to their users.
Items presented within funds
The AcSB discussed whether it would be helpful to provide guidance on which contributions and related revenue to recognize in each fund presented on the statement of operations. The Board heard that there is inconsistency in what is recognized in each fund presented. The Board will continue exploring proposals to provide guidance on which contributions and revenue should be recognized in each fund. Additionally, the Board considered some of the issues heard during outreach regarding presentation of expenses when fund accounting presentation is used, as well as disclosure of expenses. The Board tentatively decided that developing guidance on expense presentation is beyond the scope of the current project. The Board will consider the feedback on expense presentation and disclosure when it discusses its work plan and project priorities at a future Board meeting.
Definition of “endowment contribution”
The AcSB discussed whether the definition of “endowment contribution” should include only contributions that must be maintained permanently. The Board tentatively decided that the definition of “endowment contribution” should include only contributions that are permanently restricted, and that assessing permanency is an area of professional judgment. The Board directed staff to continue exploring proposals that will focus on the permanency of endowments and consider what recognition and disclosure guidance is needed for contributions with long-term restrictions.
The AcSB also discussed whether to replace the term “endowment” with a term that better reflects contributions that are permanently restricted in the proposals of the new exposure draft. The Board will continue this discussion at a future meeting.
The AcSB will seek feedback on the topics discussed and other aspects of the Contributions project from its Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee at the October 2024 Committee meeting. The Board will continue its discussion on this project at a future meeting.
Reporting Controlled and Related Entities
The AcSB considered whether the scope of its project to make Improvements to Section 4450, Reporting Controlled and Related Entities by Not-for-Profit Organizations, should be expanded. The Board received feedback from its Reporting Controlled and Related Entities Focus Group that illustrative examples may not be sufficient to address challenges in applying of Section 4450.
The AcSB discussed expanding the scope of the project to include re-evaluating the approach to determining relationships between entities in Section 4450. The expanded scope would include considering options to simplify the application of the standard. Through its discussions, the Board decided that a consultation paper would be a useful tool to gather feedback.
The AcSB will discuss next steps to prepare a consultation paper with its Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee at its October 2024 meeting.
Standards for Private Enterprises and Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations
Subsequent Measurement of Goodwill and Acquired Intangible Assets
The AcSB continued discussing proposals for inclusion in a future exposure draft on its Subsequent Measurement of Goodwill and Acquired Intangible Assets project. The exposure draft proposals will offer relief from recognizing intangible assets acquired in a business combination (relief) in Part II of the Handbook.
The AcSB tentatively decided to require disclosure of qualitatively significant intangible assets acquired in a business combination that are subsumed into goodwill, when these assets are readily identifiable.
The AcSB also discussed proposals that will allow goodwill amortization in Part II of the Handbook. The Board tentatively decided that goodwill should be amortized on a straight-line basis over a default period of 5 years, unless the entity can demonstrate that another useful life not exceeding 10 years is more appropriate.
The AcSB also tentatively decided that the relief and the goodwill amortization accounting policies be applied consistently to all business combinations and not on a transaction-by-transaction basis. The Board considered how a change in accounting policy would be applied and whether any potential amendments were needed to Section 1506, Accounting Changes. The Board directed staff to conduct further analysis for consideration at a future meeting.
The AcSB will continue discussing the exposure draft proposals at its November 2024 meeting.
Standards for Pension Plans
Part IV Priorities
The AcSB discussed its priorities in Part IV of the Handbook following completion of the current project on Improvements to Presentation and Disclosure of Investments for Pension Plans in mid-2025. The Board considered issues identified by its Pension Plan Advisory Committee over the past few years, as well as issues raised in comment letters to the 2022 Exposure Draft, “Pension Plans.” Following a series of narrow-scope amendments in recent years, the Board is now considering taking on a major project. In particular, the Board is considering a project on accounting by hybrid pension plans and other benefit plans, beginning with research. The Board will discuss this tentative direction with its Pension Plan Advisory Committee at the Committee’s October 2024 meeting.
Due Process
Annual Improvement and Post-implementation Review Process
The AcSB discussed its annual improvement and post-implementation review process. The Board decided to make a small amendment in describing annual improvements to include that the improvements have the potential to affect practice. The Board also agreed to change the post-implementation review process to formally begin the process once the amendment or standard is issued to ensure any clarifications that meet given criteria are considered by the Board on a timely basis.
AcSB’s Advisory Committees and Working Groups
Private Enterprise Advisory Committee
The AcSB received an update on the July 18, 2024, Private Enterprise Advisory Committee meeting. At this meeting, the Committee discussed the Detailed Review of ASPE, Financial Statement Concepts, Evaluating the Preface, and more. Please see the Private Enterprise Advisory Committee Meeting Notes – July 18, 2024, for details.
Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee
The AcSB received an update on the July 23, 2024, Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee meeting. At this meeting, the Committee discussed Contributions, Detailed Review of ASPE, Evaluating the Preface, Financial Statement Concepts, and more. Please see the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee Meeting Notes – July 23, 2024, for details.
Insurance Transition Resource Group
The AcSB received an update on the September 11, 2024, Insurance Transition Resource Group meeting. At this meeting, the Group discussed the Canadian insurance industry’s experience from the first year and half of reporting under IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts; IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements; and the IASB Exposure Draft, “Climate-related and Other Uncertainties in the Financial Statements.”
IFRS® Accounting Standards Discussion Group
The AcSB received an update on the September 12, 2024, IFRS Accounting Standards Discussion Group meeting. At this meeting, the Group discussed the IASB Exposure Draft, “Climate-related and Other Uncertainties in the Financial Statements”; distinguishing between a lease modification and an extinguishment of a lease liability (IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IFRS 16 Leases); implementation issues for IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements; derecognition of financial liabilities settled using electronic payment systems (IFRS 9 Financial Instruments); disclosure of revenue and expenses for reportable segments (IFRS 8 Operating Segments), and more.