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AASB meeting highlights (27 August 2008)
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This week’s meeting at the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) saw rapid progress on the development of a revised superannuation standard to replace AAS 25 Financial Reporting by Superannuation Plans. Specific decisions made include the tentative agreement to:

  • Exclude contributions and benefit statements from the income statement (or operating statement as it is currently called)  
  • Not require disclosure of a management expense ratio for the entity as a whole
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  • Require information regarding sensitivities on investment asset assumptions but not on actuarial assumptions involved in calculating accrued benefits
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  • Refer superannuation funds that offer insurance contracts to members to the specific requirements in the current insurance standards, rather than developing separate requirements in the superannuation standard
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  • Require recognition of past benefit costs in the period in which the amendment to the plan’s trust deed occurs.
The AASB completed its first review of the standard component of the proposed exposure draft Superannuation Plans and Approved Deposit Funds. The AASB is yet to consider Application Guidance and Basis of Conclusions components. The standard component of the exposure draft is to be updated to reflect decisions made on seven issues papers discussed at the meeting (some of those are mentioned above), and for the review comments made by the AASB on the principles expressed in exposure draft. The AASB is likely to take at least two more meetings to finalise the exposure draft. 
 
The AASB also approved the following for issue in Australia:
  • AASB 2008-8 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards – Eligible Hedged Items, applicable for periods commencing from 1 July 2009 
  • Interpretation 15 Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate, applicable for periods commencing 1 January 2009
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  • Interpretation 16 Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Operation, applicable for periods commencing from 1 October 2008
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  • Exposure Draft on Simplifying Earnings Per Share: Proposed amendments to IAS 33, comments required by 31 October 2008
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  • Exposure Draft on Improvements to IFRSs, comments required by 20 October 2008.
<p>The AASB also discussed and approved, subject to minor content and formatting changes, a revised AASB 1039 Concise Financial Reports. The changes to AASB 1039 result from consequential amendments arising from Accounting Standards being AASB 101 Presentation of Financial Statements and AASB 8 Operating Segments, due to commence application/revision from periods commencing 1 January 2009. Therefore the revised AASB 1039 will also apply to periods commencing from 1 January 2009. 
 
This article was taken from ANT33/2008 and is current up to 29 August 2008