Technical Roundup 23 April

Welcome to this week’s Technical Roundup. 

In developments this week, the UKEB secretariat has published for comment, a draft UK Endorsement Criteria Assessment on the IASB’s amendment ‘Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021 (Amendment to IFRS 16)’; the FRC proposes extending the application period for accounting requirements covering COVID-19-related rent concessions; an independent review of Charity Regulation in Northern Ireland has been commissioned.

Read more on these and other developments that may be of interest to members below.

Financial Reporting

• The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued an Exposure Draft that proposes to extend the application period of requirements that cover the accounting treatment of temporary rent concessions occurring as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic by one year. The FRC note that FRED 78, ‘Draft amendments to FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland and FRS 105 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the Micro-entities Regime - COVID-19-related rent concessions beyond 30 June 2021’, proposes that requirements originally introduced into FRS 102 and FRS 105 in October 2020 apply to rent concessions that reduce only lease payments originally due on or before 30 June 2022, provided the other conditions for applying the requirements are met.
• The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) secretariat has published a draft UK Endorsement Criteria Assessment on the IASB’s amendment Covid-19-Related Rent Concessions beyond 30 June 2021 (Amendment to IFRS 16). The UKEB secretariat welcomes stakeholders’ views to inform its recommendation to the BEIS Secretary of State to adopt the Amendment in the UK. The Invitation to Comment and draft UK Endorsement Criteria Assessment can be found here. Views are also invited on the UKEB secretariat’s draft response to the IASB’s Request for Information on its Post-implementation Review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12. In other news from the UKEB, the agenda and papers for the Board meeting on 22 April 2021 were made available ahead of the meeting and a recording will also be available on their website in due course for those unable to register to listen to this meeting.
• The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published for public consultation proposed amendments to IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates. They note that the proposed amendments aim to help companies determine whether a currency can be exchanged into another currency, and what accounting to apply if the currency cannot be exchanged. The Exposure Draft is accompanied by a webcast to provide an overview of the Exposure Draft and answer some commonly asked questions. The IASB has also published for comment, a proposed update to the IFRS Taxonomy 2021 for certain amendments to IFRS Standards - ‘Proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update: IFRS Taxonomy 2021 - Disclosure of Accounting Policies and Definition of Accounting Estimates’.
• Also from the IASB, the agenda and papers for the April meeting (to be held on 27 and 28 April) have been made available, and Issue 23 of the IASB Investor Update has been published.
• The IFRS Foundation Trustees are seeking candidates to fill vacancies on the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the IFRS Advisory Council. They are also seeking a Chair for the Advisory Council. Further details are available on the IFRS Foundation website.
• The IFRS for SMEs Update, a staff summary of news, events and other information about the IFRS for SMEs® Standard and related SME activities, has been published and is available on the IFRS Foundation website.
• EFRAG, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group, issued the agendas and public documents ahead of its joint EFRAG TEG-User Panel webcast meeting on Wednesday 21 April 2021 and its EFRAG TEG webcast meeting on Thursday 22 April 2021. These, along with on-demand recordings of the meetings, are available here.
• On 26 March 2021, the IASB, in conjunction with the European Accounting Association (EAA) and EFRAG, held a virtual research workshop that provided an overview of the Board’s Request for Information: Post-implementation Review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11, and IFRS 12, and a recording of the workshop is now available. The workshop was moderated by the EAA President and included an overview of the Request for Information by the IASB technical staff; an academic reflection; EFRAG’s summary of the initial input gathered by European constituents; and a Q&A session with the presenters and an IASB Board Member.

Sustainability / Non-Financial reporting

• In its efforts to revise the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), the European Commission (EC) has published a proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The objective of the proposed CSRD is to improve sustainability reporting to better exploit the potential of the European single market and to contribute to the transition to a fully sustainable and inclusive economic and financial system in line with the European Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• The UK Office for Professional Body AML Supervision recently issued the OPBAS Update to deal with the obligations on the Professional Body Supervisors (PBSs) to produce an annual report in accordance with UK money laundering law. OPBAS supervises the PBSs. The update is intended to aid the PBSs in drafting their annual reports. Annual reports are to be published no later than 1 November 2021.
• The Irish Department of Justice has recently published its Dept of Justice Implementation Plan to combat economic crime and corruption across legislative, policy and regulatory fields. It contains plans for example to establish an Advisory Council against economic crime and corruption and to publish and enact the Criminal Procedure Bill as well as to make changes to the 2010 money laundering legislation.
• The report of joint Oireachtas Committee re Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill 2018 was launched recently. It made seven recommendations and called on the Government to give the proposed Corporate Enforcement Authority the structures, power and resources to tackle ‘white collar crime’.
• The Central Bank’s Director General, Financial Conduct spoke at a recent international fraud prevention conference. Her remarks were focused on fraud prevention vis a vis national and international Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism frameworks and the role of the Central Bank in these frameworks.

Other areas of interest

• The Central Bank of Ireland is developing its new strategic plan to shape its strategic direction and guide its work for the next three to five years. It is seeking public engagement as part of the development of the plan .You can down load and comment here on the form public engagement on central bank strategic plan . For example, what do you consider to be the key current and emerging risks and issues that the Central Bank should consider in the development of its next strategic plan? Responses should be returned by 6 May 2021.
• Read the Closing remarks of Central Bank’s Deputy Governor at the recent conference which she participated in on Enterprise financing and investment in Ireland – tackling the challenges of COVID-19, digitalisation and climate change. The themes of the conference she said tie in closely with one of the most important policy goals of the Central Bank: economic and financial resilience.
• The FRC is continuing its series of webinars following publication of the UK Government’s Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance consultation. The FRC is holding the webinars and other outreach events to provide stakeholders with further insight into key aspects of the consultation and to hear views on the government’s proposals. You can find out more about the FRC’s extensive outreach programme, the consultation, and how to get involved here.
• An independent Review of Charity Regulation in Northern Ireland has been commissioned by the Minister for Communities. The review will consider the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 and the roles of the Charity Commission and the Department thereunder. It will examine whether the legislation and the operation of the Commission within the existing legal framework strikes the right balance. It will make recommendations on changes to improve the operation of the regulatory framework going forward. You can find out more and how to register for one of their webinars here.

For further technical information and updates please visit the Technical Hub and the Covid-19 Hub on the Institute website.