Новости

ASB issues further proposals on Amendment to the Liability/Equity Classification Requirements of FRS 25 “Financial Instruments: Presentation”

The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has today issued an exposure draft (“ED”) of an amendment to Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 25 (IAS 32) “Financial Instruments: Presentation”, to change the classification from liabilities to equity of certain financial instruments, following a final amendment to International Accounting Standard (IAS) 32 ‘Financial Instruments: Presentation’ issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in February 2008.

FASB Issues Proposed FASB Staff Position (FSP) No. 132(R)-a “Employers’ Disclosures about Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets”

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued FASB Staff Position (FSP) No. 132(R)-a “Employers’ Disclosures about Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets”. The purpose of the proposed FSP is to obtain feedback from constituents on proposed guidance intended to improve the quality of financial reporting by increasing disclosures about the types of assets held in postretirement benefit plans. Respondents have until May 2, 2008, to provide comment.

Credit rating to measure them all

Last Friday the Association of Regional Banks of Russia (Association “Russia”) sent a new legislation project to all largest rating agencies so that they get acquainted with it and express their ideas. Two major changes in Russia’s regulation are expected: first, for the first time ever a notion of “credit rating” is introduced in everyday practice and, secondly, professional financial market participants may soon be able to accredit rating agencies. Authors of the project state that accreditation will be a universal “quality certificate” for rating agencies in the Russian Federation - first of all, the national ones.

BAS publishes Exposure Draft of its Conceptual Framework

As part of its project for developing a new structure for actuarial standards, the Board for Actuarial Standards (BAS) has today published an Exposure Draft of the underlying conceptual framework. This publication follows a consultation period which ran from November 2007 to January 2008, during which time the BAS consulted on the principles.

FASB Issues Statement No. 161 “Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities”

The new standard is intended to improve financial reporting about derivative instruments and hedging activities by requiring enhanced disclosures to enable investors to better understand their effects on an entity’s financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. It is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after November 15, 2008, with early application encouraged.

Russia introduces “European-type” banking regulation

This Thursday the Central Bank’s first deputy chairman Gennady Melikyan, vise president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Lucas D. Papademos and Head of the European Commission in Russia Marc Franco signed an agreement to launch the Cooperation Program for modernization of Russia’s system of banking supervision and internal control.

Kudrin denies possibility of private companies managing all of Russia’s governmental assets

From this Monday’s announcement of the Central Bank’s first deputy Alexei Ulyukaev there followed the possibility of creation of a separate entity to operate the CB’s and the Ministry’s of Finance gold-value reserves. In his speech this Wednesday, Russia’s Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin said this would never happen because, according to the current legislations, only CB was able to manage them.

IASB publishes a discussion paper as first step towards reducing complexity in reporting financial instruments

The existing requirements for the reporting of financial instruments are widely regarded as difficult to understand, interpret and apply and constituents have urged the IASB to develop standards that are principle-based and less complex. The document is the first stage in a project which aims to replace IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement.

Another roundtable on convergence between financial and tax accounting in Russia

The whole meeting took about four hours and consisted of two major presentations  - the first one by Igor Sukharev, member of NOFA’s management board and the second one by Eugenia Kalinina, chief of the department for methodology, standardization and quality management of the “Centre for business consulting and audit” (“CBA”) auditing company. The point was the exchange of different opinions and resulting active discussions by the meeting’s participants, and it was successfully reached as it appeared that views of both speakers significantly differed.

IFRS switch challenges for US insurers

Participants of a roundtable hosted by Ernst & Young in the US has found that life insurance companies are struggling to cope with the changes resulting from the convergence of US GAAP and IFRS.