This IASB Update highlights preliminary decisions of the International Accounting Standards Board (Board). Projects affected by these decisions can be found on the work plan. The Board's final decisions on IFRS® Standards, Amendments and IFRIC® Interpretations are formally balloted as set out in the IFRS Foundation's Due Process Handbook.
The Board met remotely on 26 January 2021.
Contents
Work plan overview
Research and standard-setting
- Primary Financial Statements (Agenda Paper 21)
- Disclosure Initiative—Subsidiaries that are SMEs (Agenda Paper 31)
Maintenance and consistent application
Work plan overview
Board work plan update (Agenda Paper 8)
The Board met on 26 January 2021 to receive an update on its work plan. The Board also received an update on its plan to hold a supplementary virtual meeting on 4 February 2021 to discuss whether to propose extending the period of practical relief provided in the amendment to IFRS 16 Leases in relation to covid-19-related rent concessions, issued in May 2020. The meeting agenda and meeting paper are available on the meeting page.
The Board was not asked to make any decisions.
Next step
The Board expects to receive the next update on its work plan in the second quarter of 2021.
Research and standard-setting
Primary Financial Statements (Agenda Paper 21)
The Board met on 26 January 2021 to continue discussing feedback on its Exposure Draft General Presentation and Disclosures and to discuss plans for redeliberating the project proposals. (The Exposure Draft sets out proposals for a new IFRS Standard on presentation and disclosures in financial statements that, when finalised, will replace IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements. It also sets out proposed amendments to other IFRS Standards.)
The Board agreed a plan to redeliberate the project proposals.
Next step
The Board will start to redeliberate the project proposals at a future meeting.
Disclosure Initiative—Subsidiaries that are SMEs (Agenda Paper 31)
The Board met on 26 January 2021 to discuss:
- disclosure requirements for cash-generating units containing goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives—Agenda Paper 31A;
- the scope of the proposed reduced-disclosure IFRS Standard—Agenda Paper 31B; and
- whether the consultation document should be an exposure draft or a discussion paper—Agenda Paper 31C.
Disclosure about cash-generating units containing goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives (Agenda Paper 31A)
The Board tentatively decided that the proposed reduced-disclosure IFRS Standard for subsidiaries that are SMEs should include the disclosure requirements set out in paragraphs 134(a)–(c), 134(d)(i), 134(e)(i), 134(e)(iiA), 135(a)–(c) and 136 of IAS 36 Impairment of Assets. All 13 Board members agreed with this decision.
Scope of the reduced-disclosure IFRS Standard (Agenda Paper 31B)
The Board discussed whether the scope of the proposed reduced-disclosure IFRS Standard should be wider than subsidiaries that are SMEs. The Board tentatively decided that only subsidiaries that are SMEs should be eligible to apply the Standard, and that the Board would invite comments on the proposed scope of the Standard. Eleven of 13 Board members agreed with this decision.
The Board also tentatively decided a subsidiary that is an SME would only be eligible if, at its reporting date, it is a subsidiary of a parent that applies IFRS Standards in its consolidated financial statements; and that the scope should not be limited to single-entity financial statements. Eleven of 13 Board members agreed with this decision.
Consultation document—discussion paper or exposure draft (Agenda Paper 31C)
The Board decided to proceed directly to an exposure draft. Twelve of 13 Board members agreed with this decision.
Next step
In February 2021 the Board will be asked for permission to start the balloting process and, in particular, to set a comment period for the exposure draft.
Maintenance and consistent application
Consistent application update (Agenda Paper 12)
The Board met on 26 January 2021 to receive an update on the December 2020 meeting of the IFRS Interpretations Committee. Details of this meeting were published in the IFRIC Update for December 2020.
The Board was not asked to make any decisions.
