This has been a very productive year for the AASB, especially the last quarter.

Of particular note this quarter is the issuance of the differential reporting standards, which will markedly reduce the disclosure burden of the great majority of entities preparing general purpose financial statements in Australia. This de-regulation is the most significant seen in Australian financial reporting.

Further, the Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group's submission to the IASB on the critical topic of impairment of financial assets was lodged on 30 June 2010. The AASB led the working group for this first submission by the AOSSG, which already comprises active standard setters from more than 20 countries in the region.

Australia is also leading the AOSSG work on fair valuing liabilities and on hedging, the remaining elements of the IASB project to replace IAS 39 on financial instruments. The AASB is also participating in the other AOSSG active projects.

Deputy AASB Chairman and Auditor-General of Australia, Ian McPhee, gave an excellent presentation at the CPA Australia CFO Public Sector Lunch earlier this year. He, and CPA Australia, have graciously allowed us to re-produce the presentation in this newsletter for you to read.

Congratulations to AASB staff members Ahmad Hamidi-Ravari (on his promotion to Senior Project Manager) and Siva Sivanantham (on his promotion to Project Manager); both promotions are well deserved.

There is plenty of work on the agenda at the AASB right now. I hope you enjoy reading, below, about just a few of the projects that are currently being worked on behind the scenes...

The AASB took the lead on the project team to develop the first submission by the Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG) to the IASB. The topic for the submission was IASB ED/2009/12 Financial Instruments: Amortised Cost and Impairment. More

by Ian McPhee
Auditor-General for Australia
Member, Australian Accounting Standards Board

Global developments now influence Australian financial reporting far more than was the case when the Australian public sector first adopted accrual accounting. The machinery for setting Australian Accounting Standards has also changed, with responsibility moving from the accounting profession to the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). The AASB is a government agency, but operates independently in its standard-setting role.

Click here to download the presentation I gave at the CPA Australia CFO Public Sector Lunch in April 2010, which outlines the role of the AASB, its key relationships and the broad influences on its work. The presentation reviews some of the current public sector issues facing the AASB and outlines ways in which CFOs can contribute most effectively to public sector accounting standard setting.

On 30 June, 2010, the AASB approved AASB 1053 Application of Tiers of Australian Accounting Standards, which will significantly reduce the disclosure burden and reduce the costs of preparing and auditing financial reports for most entities that currently apply full IFRSs as adopted in Australia. These entities (now called Tier 2 entities) include large proprietary companies in the for-profit private sector, not-for-profit private sector entities and the majority of public sector entities.. More

The AASB has made a submission in support of the preliminary views in the IPSASB’s November 2009 Consultation Paper Reporting on the Long-Term Sustainability of Public Finances. More

The IASB and the FASB are in the process of deliberating both lessee and lessor accounting issues and are expected to issue an exposure draft in the second half of 2010. The AASB intends to release an Australian exposure draft and consult with constituents to help formulate its comment letter to the IASB. More

The IASB and FASB are developing a proposed new standard on insurance contracts, which recommends a new measurement approach for insurance contracts. More

Until 2 August 2010
ED 197 Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income (proposed amendments to AASB 101)

Until 9 August 2010
ED 195 Defined Benefit Plans (proposed amendments to AASB 119)

Until 16 August 2010
ED 199 Measurement Uncertainty Analysis Disclosure for Fair Value Measurements

Until 24 September 2010
ED 198 Revenue from Contracts with Customers

Until 8 October 2010
ED 200A Proposals to Harmonise Australian and New Zealand Standards in Relation to Entities Applying IFRSs as Adopted in Australia and New Zealand

ED 200B Proposed Separate Disclosure Standards

The AASB Chairman presented at the annual AFAANZ conference on the introduction of Reduced Disclosure Reporting for Tier 2 Entities (July 2010)

The AASB Chairman presented at the ICAA Business Forums nationwide on 'a year of revolution in financial reporting requirements' (June 2010)

The AASB Chairman participated in a panel discussion on differential reporting at the IFRS Regional Policy Forum, Singapore (May 2010)