Fix for IFRS XBRL Taxonomy Exposed

Both the U.S. GAAP and IFRS XBRL taxonomies have been revised and exposed for comment.

For those not familiar with XBRL, it is an open-source HTML-like language for tagging financial statements. Proponents claim that XBRL makes it easier for investors and analysts to compare financial results across companies and industries. XBRL is now mandated by the SEC for public companies to use in their financial filings. XBRL tags let users of financial statements electronically search for, assemble, and process data so the information can be accessed and analyzed by investors, analysts, journalists and regulators.

The 2012 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy is expected to be finalized and published in early 2012. The proposed 2012 U.S. GAAP taxonomy and instructions on how to submit comments are available on FASB’s XBRL page.

As for the IFRS taxonomy, the IFRS Foundation has revised it taxonomy in response to regulators and preparers who wanted more extensions (additional sub-accounts) to the full IFRS XBRL taxonomy.

The IFRS XBRL taxonomy is used to help those filing IFRS financial statements electronically to tag the information with identification tags, also known as “concepts.” Currently, the IFRS taxonomy includes all of the core concepts included in IFRS as issued by the IASB. However, preparers often need to provide more detailed financial information than is reflected by the core IFRS concepts.

To ensure that those creating and using electronic filings do not need to create their own extensions to the IFRS taxonomy, the IFRS Foundation has created an “extension taxonomy” by analyzing and drawing from common practice. For instance, although IFRS requires the disclosure of an analysis of expenses, IFRS does not include a prescriptive listing of all of the possible categories of expenses. The common-practice taxonomy includes concepts for the most commonly used types of expenses, such as “sales and marketing.”

The interim taxonomy released on Thursday completes the first part of a project to address this issue, by providing about 350 extensions for the most common concepts used in the financial statements.

The common practice concepts are in line with IFRS requirements and will help to alleviate the burden on preparers and to increase the comparability between financial statements in accordance with IFRS that are electronically submitted.

The Beginning of the End of a Single Set of High-quality, Global Accounting Standards

A year and a half ago, the G-20 leaders called on international accounting standard setters to redouble their efforts to achieve a single set of high-quality, global accounting standards through their independent standard-setting processes and complete their convergence project by June 2011.

Before we even have a converged set of global accounting standards, the EU has hammered a nail into its coffin. If the EU can decide to opt in or out of a given part of IFRS standards then the door is open to home-country versions of IFRS similar to those that have existed for years.

The European Union has refused to adopt a new accounting rule that could ease fallout from the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis on banks.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), following up on pressure from policymakers at the height of the financial crisis, has eased its "fair value" or mark-to-market rule that was known as IAS 39.

The first completed part of the new IFRS 9 standard allows banks to price some government debt held on their books at cost rather than at current depressed prices.

This avoids the "cliff effect" of many banks needing to recognize large losses and top up regulatory capital buffers.

IFRS 9 would allow European banks to exclude some of the broader markets effects of the current financial crisis in Europe.

Under IFRS 9 impairments will still exist, but would be more timely.

The EU has stated that it wants to see how two other elements of IFRS 9 will be finalized before making up his mind on the complete rule.

Latest IFRS Readiness Survey from AICPA

The AICPA recently published a survey of U.S. CPAs on the subject of readiness for IFRS.

Some of the results:

• Majority of CPAs in the United States have some knowledge of IFRS


• Many CPAs have begun to develop greater expertise


• Significant movement in the readiness of U.S. CPAs for introduction of IFRS in the U.S. over the three years since 2008


• Slight reversal in readiness gains as CPAs await progress in the convergence of U.S. and international standards and a clear timeline from the SEC.


• 76% of CPAs working in public companies are delaying preparations to adopt IFRS until the SEC issues a decision, which is an inrease of 13 percent from 63% who were delaying six months ago.


• 78% of CPAs already have some knowledge of IFRS


• 53% support an SEC mandate requiring use of IFRS in the U.S.


• 23% think IFRS should be offered as a financial reporting option for public companies.


• Large majorities were unsure whether the proposed new standards and accompanying guidance in these areas would be improvements over existing standards.


• Only 16% of respondents said that they had heard of the “condorsement” model proposal.


• 50% of CPAs working for foreign-owned public companies and 39% in foreign-owned private companies have already adopted IFRS or are ready to adopt.


• 48% of CPAs working for U.S. public companies foresee a need for advanced or expert level knowledge of IFRS


• 32% have begun actively preparing for adoption.


• 18% are planning to adopt IFRS.


• 30% said the pace of change for IASB-FASB convergence is too fast; 36% said the pace is appropriate; 28% are unsure; 6% think the pace of change is too slow.


• 51% believe a 2015-16 adoption date would allow enough time for implementation; 17% said that would not be enough time, and 32% are unsure.


• 53% said they are aware of the standard for SMEs; 30% said they would consider adopting it or would advise their clients to consider adopting it, but most would only consider this if IFRS were required for public companies.
  
  

Giving a Rodent's Posterior about IFRS

I love the way that the author introduces this article:

Anyone Who Gives a Rat’s Behind About IFRS Needs to Mark July 7 on Their Calendars
By CALEB NEWQUIST

Cause there’s gonna be a roundtable.

The Securities and Exchange Commission staff announced today that it will sponsor a roundtable in July to discuss benefits or challenges in potentially incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) into the financial reporting system for U.S. issuers.

The July 7 event will feature three panels representing investors, smaller public companies, and regulators. The panel discussions will focus on topics such as investor understanding of IFRS and the impact on smaller public companies and on the regulatory environment of incorporating IFRS.

“We must carefully consider and deliberate whether incorporating IFRS into our financial reporting system is in the best interest of U.S. investors and markets,” said SEC Chief Accountant James Kroeker. “This roundtable will provide an excellent opportunity for investors, preparers, and regulators to provide the SEC staff with valuable information that will help the Commission in its ongoing consideration of incorporating IFRS.”

See you there. If you manage to recover from your July 4th meat sweats, that is.

XBRL and IFRS Mess

As a result of a series of missteps and lack of coordination, companies that file financial statements in the United States following IFRS may be getting a break on their first XBRL filing.

The SEC have acknowledged that it would be impossible for foreign private issuers, filing with the SEC following IFRS, to file in XBRL, because the SEC has yet to approve the XBRL taxonomy that IFRS filers should follow. Foreign private issuers (“FPI”) filing quarterly “voluntary” 10-Q filings are the first group of the third and final wave of companies coming under SEC rules to file in the XBRL for the first time.

For example a calendar year FPI in this group files its 30 June 2011 Form 10-Q on its Monday 10 August 2011 due date. The company would have until Tuesday 8 September 2011 to file its first XBRL exhibit under Form 10-Q/A. No grace period would be available for its 30 September 2011 Form 10-Q. For a FPI not filing voluntarily on domestic forms, its annual report on Form 20-F or Form 40-F for its year ended on or after 15 June 2011 will be the first SEC report required to include XBRL data. So a calendar year filer in this group would file its annual financial statements in XBRL format by its filing deadline in 2012.

To provide financial statements in XBRL according to SEC's rules, companies must follow a taxonomy approved by the SEC. A taxonomy is a list of computer-readable tags in XBRL that allows companies to tag the thousands of bits of financial data that are included in financial statements and footnote disclosures. On March 25, the IFRS Foundation finalized a 2011 IFRS taxonomy that would be followed by IFRS issuers to file in XBRL. The SEC has not yet approved that taxonomy, and hasn't said when it expects to do so. An SEC spokesman said the IFRS Foundation is still working on the taxonomy. Previously taxonomies took about five weeks for SEC approval.

The SEC has relaxed its rules for filings stating: “We are of the view that foreign private issuers that prepare their financial statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB are not required to submit to the Commission and post on their corporate websites, if any, Interactive Data Files until the Commission specifies on its website a taxonomy for use by such foreign private issuers in preparing their Interactive Data Files,” Cross and Kroeker wrote. The letter gives no indication, however, of when the SEC expects to approve the IFRS taxonomy and therefore how that might impact the date for XBRL filing requirements.

IFRS Convergence Projects Delayed

The heads of FASB and IASB announced they will take “a few additional months” beyond their June target date to complete priority joint convergence projects on revenue recognition, leases, financial instruments and insurance. This is a reasonable development, and expected by most observers. The original convergence deadlines were optimistic and some thought that inferior standards would result if the projects were rushed. A few quotes below.

David Tweedie, Chairman of the IASB
Leslie Seidman, Chairman of the FASB

David Tweedie: “...if you were listed in the United States using IFRSs you had to reconcile to US GAAP, that showed where the differences were, and what we did was try to look through our standards and if FASB had a better standard, we should take it and vice versa. That was going to take forever so in 2006, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was instituted and that set out a different policy, namely that we should look at certain standards, and for each of these standards, if it was complex or out of date there was no point in trying to converge them otherwise we would just get a complex out-of-date converged standard when what we should really do is write a better one.” “...we have completed most of that program and it’s been a great success, the two sets of standards are much closer together and frankly IFRSs are much better quality than they would have been otherwise.”

Seidman: “We would never let a target date take priority over thorough and robust due process...so let me clarify any misunderstanding about the June 2011 date. It was always intended to be a target, not a deadline, and we always said that achieving the target was subject to the nature and extent of the feedback that we got on each of the exposure documents. At this point on each of the exposure documents we have received significant and very constructive feedback and we are in the process of working through those issues. The quality of the standards remains of the utmost importance. Every board member wants to issue high quality standards that we think are going to withstand the test of time.”

Tweedie: “We have been working on these now for some five years so this is hardly a rush job and what we have done, and I think this is a big change in standard-setting over the past couple of years, is we have gone out deliberately to get high quality in put in addition to that required by our due process. This extensive outreach is something that hadn’t been done to the extent that it is now. We get constant input, and we test these ideas as we finalize the standards.”

Tweedie: “...we would never release a standard before it is ready and ultimately it must be a high quality standard or you just can’t issue it.”

Seidman: “After evaluating the issues yet to be addressed we jointly concluded that, without extending the work out indefinitely, we all could benefit from a few more months to develop these standards, some of which really go to the core issues of many companies.”

Tweedie: “So as Leslie was saying there, we have decided to extend the timetable for a few additional months to enable us to check whether our conclusions will last the test of time. We are also mindful of the G20 target, we have been reminded of that many times over the last few years, and we intend to try to finish this convergence program by end of 2011. The June target has helped us to get there but at the same time it is clear that we need a little more time to check the conclusions, and to ensure that the standards are of the highest quality.”

Seidman: “Let me mention one other thing, we have yet to decide on the effective dates for these standards but we do want to reassure people that we will allow ample time for them to understand the requirements and to plan for an effective transition to the new standards once those decisions are made.”

A U.S. Viewpoint on Lease Accounting

Following is a summary of a comment letter submitted on lease acconting, as previously published in the Journal of Accountancy.

The AICPA’s Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC) commented on FASB’s Proposed Accounting Standards Update, Leases. The exposure draft was developed jointly with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). FinREC said it supports the boards’ overall objective to develop a single approach to lease accounting and to require assets and liabilities arising under leases to be recognized in lessees’ statements of financial position. However, FinREC believes there are fundamental application issues not addressed by the ED, and revisions that need to be made to various aspects of the boards’ proposal, including those related to the right-of-use approach to lessee accounting.

The FASB proposal would result in a single “right-of-use” approach applied consistently to lease accounting for lessees and lessors. Among other changes, the approach would result in the liability for payments under all lease contracts within the scope of the standard and the right to use the underlying asset being included on the lessee’s balance sheet. The standard setters say the changes would improve the information available to investors and other financial statement users about the economics surrounding lease contracts.

Unlike FASB’s discussion paper, Leases: Preliminary Views, published in March 2009, which focused primarily on lessee accounting, the ED, Leases, would result in changes on both sides of a lease transaction. A lessor would apply either a performance obligation approach or a derecognition approach. “The majority of FinREC members do not support the boards’ hybrid (lease classification) approach to lessor accounting—instead they support the derecognition approach as the single lessor accounting model,” FinREC said in its comment letter.

The proposal includes simplified accounting for short-term leases—leases having a maximum term of 12 months or less. The simplified accounting would allow lessees to ignore the effects of interest on the recorded assets and liabilities and allow the lessee to record the liability for lease payments at the undiscounted amount for lease payments. The simplified accounting would allow the lessor not to recognize assets or liabilities arising from a short-term lease, nor derecognize any portion of the underlying asset.

In its comment letter, FinREC said, “We do not support the boards’ approach to accounting for lease renewal options and contingent rents. We believe that the lease term should be defined as the lessee’s (lessor’s) best estimate of the lease term. We believe contingent rents and expected payments under residual value guarantees should be included in the measurement of assets and liabilities based on management’s best estimate of payments to be made (received) under the lease.”

Learning IFRS

The AICPA is developing an IFRS Certificate Program. They have a number of self-study courses on IFRS in general, comparisons to U.S.GAAP, and individual topics like inventories, intangibles, impairment, EPS, etc. You can find information about the self-study courses here.

We ordered one of their self-study courses a while back. I didn't complete the course myself, but I have had good reviews from those who did.

Joint Proposals Push Toward IFRS/GAAP Convergence in Issues Affecting Banks

FASB and the IASB announced moves toward convergence of IFRS and GAAP through joint proposals on offsetting transactions and impairment of financial assets.



The two main changes are 1) an exposure draft released last week on a common approach to offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities. This would end a major difference between IFRS and U.S. GAAP. 2) A supplementary document with a new impairment model for financial assets like loans managed in an open portfolio. The proposal would replace the incurred loss model with a more forward-looking expected loss model--a response to complaints in the financial crisis.

The issue with offsetting is that companies can, in some instances, report IFRS balance sheet figures that are 100 percent greater than their U.S. GAAP numbers. This is confusing to the global capital markets and the proposals would eliminate the difference.



U.S. GAAP would only net in more limited circumstances, with note disclosure of other netting arrangements in footnotes.



Offsetting/netting is required when company presents in net amounts on their balance sheet. As it stands now, financial assets and financial liabilities may show up on a balance sheet as one net amount, or as two gross amounts, depending on whether the balance sheet is in IFRS or U.S. GAAP.

The above netting arrangements cause the largest difference between balance sheets using IFRS and U.S. GAAP. Derivative assets and related liabilities are the most common area where this occurs. Balance sheets of financial institutions generally have the largest derivative positions.



The new proposed rules apply only when the right of setoff is enforceable at all times, including in default and bankruptcy, and the ability to exercise this right is unconditional—i.e. offsetting only occurs after a future event. A company must intend to settle net, i.e. with a single payment, or simultaneously. If all of these requirements are met, offsetting is mandatory. This would also change industry conventions.



The Exposure Draft is Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities [FASB Proposed Accounting Standards Update, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Offsetting]. Comments are due April 28.



On Impairment, changes introduce an expected loss model that is more forward-looking in accounting for credit losses, and is said to better reflect the economics of lending decisions. IFRS and U.S. GAAP currently account for credit losses using an incurred loss model, which requires evidence of a loss (known as a trigger event) before loans can be written down.



“The FASB and IASB are seeking comment on the changes, i.e. whether they agree conceptually and whether the changes can be practically applied.



Some advocate that a more forward-looking approach to loan losses would have made loan provisions show up earlier than before, and may have held off or mitigated the credit crisis by giving earlier warnings about the health of financial institutions.



Comments on the document Accounting for Financial Instruments and Revisions to the Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, are due April 1.



If you need a nap, the IASB is hosting a webcast on the impairment of financial assets proposal on Friday, Feb. 4, with sessions timed for Europe and the U.S. Also “FASB in Focus” has overviews on the new rules netting on FASB’s website and another FASB in Focus on the impairment model.

The SEC’s IFRS Hit List

Companies that will be filing IFRS financial statements for the first time in 2011 (hello to all 377 Canadian Foreign Private Issuers!) will potentially have their 2011 statements subject to review by the SEC. Following are the SEC’s top ten IFRS issues, from a speech made at the 2010 AICPA National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments:

1. Financial instruments – IAS 39, 32 and IFRS 7
2. Impairment of assets – IAS 36
3. Financial statement presentation -- IAS 1 & 7
4. Operating segments – IFRS 8
5. Revenue -- IAS 18
6. Income taxes – IAS 12
7. Property, plant and equipment – IAS 16
8. Employee benefits – IAS 19
9. Provisions, contingent liabilities – IAS 37
10. Consolidated financial statements -- IAS 27

FASB Reversal a Major Step Toward International Convergence

The FASB has made a major compromise in the area of impairment of financial instruments. Full details will be released later, but this is a major concession to U.S. and European banks. It is also a major step toward convergence of U.S. accounting rules with IFRS and the end to what what previously called a "religious war" over fair value accounting. As well, political influence over accounting may be resolved by the compromise.

This new FASB approach is similar to the International Accounting Standards Board’s model in IFRS 9. FASB has agreed that at least some assets should qualify for cost accounting, whereas banks were forced to use a fair value model for all loans under the new rules. Existing rules forced fair value on portions of banks’ loan portfolios.

The FASB’s original proposal was opposed by the banking industry as being pro-cyclical (making problems worse as business cycles worsened). Banks say that proposed the fair value approach is a danger to the survival of marginal financial institutions that could have their capital called by bank regulators because the rules have and would continue to force banks to take large and inappropriate write-downs on temporary market declines. They also lobbied that the rules would hurt lending and unfairly reduce banks' book value. They argued that banks would not make loans if the value of the loan could be written down immediately due to temporary market fluctuations.

Supporters of the FASB fair-value proposals say it would have improved transparency and unmasked potential weaknesses at banks. Proponents of fair value accounting, including the CFA Institute, argue it is what is needed to make the financial statements of banks reflect their true financial positions and operations more clearly to investors.

FASB said that financial statement users, including preparers, auditors and others would prefer to have loans held for collection recorded on the balance sheet at amortized cost, but with a more robust impairment test.

The FASB will go back to users for input toward an impairment model for loans. The original proposal required a fully fair value-based approach that the banks have lobbied against for years. The new approach would recognize a portion of the estimated loan losses over time unless greater losses are expected in the foreseeable future, in which case that larger floor amount would be recognized currently. Some loans, including loans traded actively by banks instead of held to collect payments will be valued at market prices.

The changes are partly the result of a fierce lobbying campaign by the American Bankers’ Association and others and seen as a major victory for the banking industry. However it was not solely the banks in opposition to the proposals. The FASB reported an overwhelmingly negative reaction to its proposal from companies and investors, who wrote more than more than 2,800 comment letters.

Best of 2010: Accounting

After creating an ambitious agenda for the year, the standard-setters had to play hurry up and wait.

Article by Marie Leone and David M. Katz, CFO.com US

In the realm of accounting, no one moved more rapidly this year than the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board. The two standard-setting bodies set forth an aggressive agenda that called for a dozen or so new rules to be issued by 2011.

Their aim was to complete their now eight-year-old convergence project and emerge with a single set of global accounting standards. But the effort was ambushed by reality — the global financial crisis and subsequent global recession; heated debates over controversial rulemaking decisions; the early retirement of FASB chairman Robert Herz; and the announced departure of IASB chairman Sir David Tweedie, slated for June 2011. (On December 23, the trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation announced that Leslie F. Seidman, acting FASB chairman since Herz's retirement, had been named chairman of FASB, effectively immediately.)

Accordingly, the rulemakers slowed down the convergence process in the latter part of 2010, vowing to issue only four newly melded standards at any one time. Still, they hope to finish a number of convergence projects by the end of 2011. That will be a prickly task, since those projects have shaken some fundamental tenets of business. They will, for instance, eliminate the concept of operating leases, rework revenue-recognition rules, do away with last-in-first-out inventory accounting, and expand the reach of fair-value accounting.

Meanwhile, the process of adopting private-company accounting standards ("little GAAP") in the United States began in 2010, and could eventually become the purview of a second standard-setting board. The debate concerning final decisions about little GAAP should come to a head in 2011 — just in time for the Securities and Exchange Commission's decision on whether or not U.S. publicly traded companies should abandon U.S. generally accepted accounting principles in favor of international standards.

"Taking the 'Ease' Out of 'Lease'?"
By doing away with operating leases, new accounting rules could bring billions of dollars back onto balance sheets.
"Shorter Agenda for Convergence"
FASB and the IASB have selected five priority projects to focus on – and hopefully push out by next year.
"One Step Closer to Little GAAP"
A blue-ribbon panel on private-company accounting standards recommends a separate GAAP for private companies.
"Technical Difficulties"
As the pace of accounting-rule changes intensifies, can IT systems keep up?
"A Relentless Pursuit of Global Rules"
Tom Jones, director of Pace University's international accounting center, looks forward to a world without local GAAPs.
"Debunking IFRS Myths"
Experts expose seven misconceptions about international financial reporting standards.
"After Eight Years at FASB, Herz Looks Back"
In an exclusive interview, Robert Herz talks about his legacy as chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
"One Size Gives Fits to All"
Financial executives say that proposed changes to revenue-recognition rules ignore real-world realities.
"Revenue Rules Could Cause Software Snags"
How much will ERP systems have to be tweaked to comply with FASB's new revenue-recognition rules?
"Without Hoopla, Fair-Value Rule Is Readied"
Among the ripple effects of the global credit crisis is the rewrite of the controversial fair-value accounting rule once known as FAS 157. The revised standard could be in place by the end of the year.

Pension Pain

When the Wall Street Journal talks about accounting it is usually worth reading, so here is their take on the impact of a proposed change to accounting for pensions under IFRS.

Efforts to make pension accounting more transparent could cause corporate profits to become more volatile if gains and losses from pension assets are mingled with results from companies' business operations.

The agency for international accounting standards [the IASB] is expected to take up a proposal next year that would require companies with defined-benefit pensions to report annual changes in the value of their pension assets as part in their income statements. Under current procedures, returns on pension investments and gains and losses in pension-plan assets are accounted for in small increments over several years to keep them from skewing companies' earnings.

The change would provide a more immediate snapshot of companies' pension-plan performance. But U.S. companies, aside from Honeywell International Inc. (HON), have so far been reluctant to voluntarily change their pension accounting. Observers warn that investors could be subjected to bouncier stock prices if earnings become significantly less reliable with the addition of unpredictable gains and losses from pensions.

"If we've learned nothing else over the last three years, it's that the market isn't always rational," said Alan Glickstein, senior consultant for Towers Watson, an employee benefits consultancy. "It's not necessarily a good thing if [the accounting change] just increases earnings volatility."

If the International Accounting Standards Board--the nongovernmental agency for accounting rules used by companies outside the U.S.--adopts the change for pension accounting, observers predict the Financial Accounting Standards Board will follow suit for the sake of consistency and amend the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles used by U.S. companies.

"To the degree that a company wants to make sure that their financials are reflective of their operations, it would make sense to go through a change like this. It would add transparency to the numbers," said Daniel Holland, an analyst for research firm Morningstar Inc.

More than 340 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index have defined-benefit pensions that guarantee employees pension incomes when they retire. To meet these obligations, the companies have set aside a combined $1.22 trillion that is invested in stocks, bonds and other types of investments.

Smoothing out annual gains and losses from defined-benefit pensions has come under increasing scrutiny as regulators dismantle other accounting practices used for decades to wall off pension costs and liabilities from companies' balance sheets and their profit statements.

"The pension volatility has always been there. It's just not measured today. The accounting doesn't require that it be highlighted," said David Larsen, managing director for corporate finance consulting at Duff & Phelps Corp., a financial services and investment banking advisory firm.

Honeywell is the largest U.S. company to begin using market-to-market accounting for its pension. The move is intended to put the brakes on escalating costs for Honeywell's pension. Falling interest rates on bonds used to determine companies' future pension obligations have driven up annual pension costs for all companies with defined-benefit plans. But Honeywell's expenses have been exacerbated by a decision it made in the late 1990s to use a six-year schedule for amortizing pension gains and losses on pension assets and a three-year schedule for smoothing out returns from pension investments. Most companies amortize gains and losses over 10 years or 12 years and account for investment returns over five years.

Honeywell's shorter time frame helped the company lower its pension expenses when asset values soared. But when pension-fund performance tanked in 2008, Honeywell's pension headwinds were magnified in its earnings.

Without the option of switching back to a longer amortization schedule, Honeywell will stop deferring gains and losses. The aerospace and building-systems manufacturer will recognize $5.5 billion in prior asset losses in its 2010 income statement. Going forward, Honeywell will report gains and losses in their entirety during the year they occur.

The change will increase the company's pension costs for this year to $1.61 billion, compared with $791 million under the six-year schedule. But its pension expenses are expected to plunge to $200 million in 2011.

"It takes all that old stuff and puts it behind them," said Howard Silverblatt, an analyst with Standard & Poor's investment services unit.

Once the slate is wiped clean, Honeywell aims to limit its pension expenses to about $200 million a year. Moreover, the company will attempt hold down pension-related volatility in its earnings by making pension asset values and returns more predictable than in the past.

"I can see investors having this fear that every fourth quarter there's going to be this wild swing," Chairman and Chief Executive David Cote said during a Nov. 16 conference call with analysts. "More likely than not, that is not going to happen."

In the coming years, Honeywell plans to shift more of its pension funds from equities to fixed-income investments. That will lower annual returns to 6.5% from 9%, but will lessen Honeywell's exposure to sudden swings in stock values and returns that would contribute to earnings volatility.

If mark-to-market pension accounting becomes the standard, other companies will likely change their investment mix as well, creating a profound shift in the allocation of pension funds the next decade.

"I would expect it to take a while, but pension assets would shift to less volatile securities," Morningstar's Holland said.



-By Bob Tita, Dow Jones Newswires;

Fair Value Fight between FASB, IASB heats Up with Volcker Comments

The FASB vs IASB fight has heated up substantially following comments by Paul Volcker, an advisor to Barack Obama and former chairman of the US. Federal Reserve Board, and former Chairman of the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation. The FASB wants to expand the use of fair-value accounting to all financial assets, including loans and deposits. This concept is opposed byUS bankers and also somewhat by the IASB, which prefers a milder version of fair value accounting. The battle that is shaping up between opposing forces could determine how much capital banks are required to maintain, and accordingly would determine to some extent how much leverage a bank could utilize.

The FASB proposal could result in the largest U.S. banks writing down the value of their loan portfolios.

Volcker said that treatment of financial instruments has not been resolved because of political pressure. Volcker also said “When you have global corporations operating around the world, and analysts looking at them from around the world, you want one accounting standard.”

The two accounting bodies have worked diligently toward convergence of the two different sets of accounting rules for the past five years. Disagreements are most significant around fair value rules for financial instruments, including derivatives, and rules governing what companies have to consolidate on their balance sheets. Many issues are close to being resolved.

The FASB likes a version of fair value accounting that forces loans and bank deposits to be marked to market values as is already done for banks trading books. Theis would not necessarily affect earnings, since some fair-value adjustments can be recorded in other comprehensive income which goes directly to equity.

The IASB prefers an approach that allows financial assets to stay on the books at original cost if the assets are held to maturity, i.e. for the long term. The IASB says it has no plans to re- open discussion of fair-value accounting, however the FASB and the IASB may eventually move to a middle ground.

Volcker prefers the IASB approach on valuing financial instruments. “You can’t have everything at fair value,” Volcker, said--“I’m not in favor of fair valuing bank loans because we don’t know their fair value anyway. It’s not consistent with the basic business model of commercial banks.”

In a similar episode, a few months earlier, IASB bowed to European Union demands to relax its fair-value rules, letting banks move some assets to a different part of the balance sheet so they wouldn’t have to be marked to market values.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the most profitable U.S. securities firm, has said that banks hide losses on loans used to generate investment-banking fees. In a Sept. 1 letter to FASB, Goldman Sachs described how banks lend at below-market rates to win equity and debt-underwriting deals, a practice known as “lend to play.” Goldman Sachs executives have argued that the firm’s practice of marking assets to market value helped it prepare for the credit contraction earlier than rivals.

Looking for Work? Try FASB or IASB

If you are an accounant with a converged accounting skillset, perhaps there are a couple of jobs youu might be interected in. Both Robert Herz, and Sir David Tweedie, respectively the chairman of the U.A. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the head of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are due to retire shortly. Despite the departures of Sir David and Mr Herz, big accounting firms and their clients still expect convergence of standards to top the agenda of their successors.

Both men have had to deal with controversial issues in financial reporting. In particular, fair value accounting for financial assets: and liabilities is a particularly cumbersome issue. In fact, the two men and their accounting bodies have butted heads over this issue, with both business people and politicialns sticking their oars in to the dispute. Recently, the FASB has taken a more principles-based approach, calling for most measurements to be at fair value. IASB has taken a two-category approach, saying that loans and loan-like equivalents held to maturity may be marked at amortised cost, whereas frequently traded instruments should be marked to market. Comments to date are leaning more toward the IASB approach, with “Big Four” accounting firms and many companies on the IASB’s side. Conjecture is that Herz’s replacement may be a pragmatic consensus-builder rather that the principles-based stalwart that herz was.

At IASB, meanwhile, the skills of a politician or diplomat may be required as the EU politicians have in some cases refused to agree to the IASB's proposed standards.

IFRS - Convergence or Adoption? Part 1

WebCPA recently published a survey of responses on IFRS adoption, quoting people of influence in the accounting profession on their thoughts on moving to IFRS.

Below is Part 1 of some of their comments.

Full convergence on rules will take time -- especially as the economic factors continue to shift (like regulating derivatives), but there needs to be general agreement on the guiding principles in the meantime.
-- Mark Albrecht, CEO, XCM Solutions

Many have underestimated the degree to which the "concepts-based" IFRS standards will migrate toward the "rules-based" structure that exists in GAAP today. In fact, the SEC issued comment letters that speak to uncertainties of this transition. We have "rules-based" standards in the U.S. today largely because of our financial reporting environment, and a change to IFRS will not necessarily change that dynamic.
-- Charles Allen, CEO, Crowe Horwath LLP

...the burden and cost of implementation during the current economy is a large hurdle for some companies. In the long term, I believe a single set of global accounting standards will be very positive.
-- Jordan Amin, Chair, National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, AICPA

The concept is good. But there are a couple real-world issues to resolve. The first is that many countries that have already adopted, or are expected to soon adopt, International Financial Reporting Standards have "country modifications" -- if this is prevalent, we do not really have common standards. A second issue is that standards must be relevant and useable -- currently, there is a legitimate question as to whether one set of standards can meet all needs of public companies, private companies, etc. and that must be resolved.
-- Rick Anderson, Chairman and CEO, Moss Adams

There seems to be worldwide consensus surrounding the need for one global set of high-quality accounting standards and that IFRS is currently best positioned to fulfill that need. However, there is much to be gained from U.S. GAAP and, as such, the convergence of U.S. GAAP and IFRS may very well best serve the needs of the global community.
-- C.E. Andrews, President, RSM McGladrey

We have indeed reached the point where global businesses, financial and capital markets are interrelated. Without a single set of standards, we will become like the Biblical Tower of Babel.
-- August Aquila, President and CEO, Aquila Global Advisors

As proposed, (IFRS is) more principle-driven than our rule-driven U.S. GAAP accounting, and thus more open to interpretation. But I think that interpretation and flexibility are necessary. The differences in the cultures and business practices of each nation have to be considered and that requires flexibility. I think that convergence will likely be the best vehicle for migration and eventual international adoption because it will allow the standards to evolve as they are practiced.
-- Andy Armanino, CEO and managing partner, Armanino McKenna

The creation of a single set of high-quality standards will benefit U.S. financial markets and public companies.
-- Erik Asgeirsson, CEO, CPA2Biz

The process is too much and too fast, especially considering the state of our economy, legal system vs. global, and the need to assure the U.S. public of due process and independence in accounting standards promulgation. The process of accounting standards convergence must slow down and acquire the broad support of the U.S. public, financial statement users, preparers, practitioners and regulators.
-- Billy Atkinson, Chairman, NASBA

I think that the political, cultural and governance challenges associated with getting global adoption of a uniform set of high-quality accounting and financial reporting standards accomplished are far more difficult to deal with than the technical accounting issues, and will likely prevent the achievement of that goal. Still the convergence goal should be pursued to the extent feasible, and any remaining differences should be identified so that financial statement users can better consider the impact of such differences.
-- Robert Attmore, Chairman, GASB

Comparability is overrated, and it's not going to happen anyway. This idea would be far superior to the status quo. All financial statements are lagging indicators anyway -- similar to timing your cookies with your smoke alarm. We have to compare any change to GAAP to the status quo, not some perfect Utopia that's never going to exist here on earth.
-- Ron Baker, Founder, VeraSage Institute

...the move to create one set of global standards recognizes that we are operating in a borderless, i.e., seamless, business environment.
-- Sheri Bango, Vice president of practice mobility and state regulatory & legislative affairs, AICPA

A single set of standards is imperative given global markets today, and IFRS is a reasonable path. With the impact of globalization and large developing economies such as China, Brazil and India, effective, meaningful comparisons between entities are absolutely critical.
-- Jon Baron, President - Americas, Workflow & Service Solutions, Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting

U.S. GAAP was the gold standard for so many countries for so long because it was considered the highest-quality set of accounting standards anywhere. U.S. GAAP may not be flawless, but the words "prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP" send a message to the financial statement user that the methods under which the financials were prepared have been tested and are trusted. U.S. regulators must demand that "prepared in accordance with IFRS" -- or "U.S. IFRS" if it
comes to that -- guarantees the same level of trust and reliability.

The roadmap as currently proposed does not enhance the comparability of financial information that would be achieved through convergence.
-- Joanne Barry, Executive director, NYSSCPA

While the objective of global accounting standards seems obvious and noble, there exists far too much deep and long-lasting disagreement in many basic accounting theories to make this practical and useful. For instance, "fair value accounting" has serious regulatory and financial consequences to a company and its nation, and its application may have serious unintended economic consequences. However, I am afraid that the genie is out of the bottle and continued enormous effort will still be devoted to its ultimate realization. Nevertheless, adoption of those standards will be difficult.
-- Tony Batman, Chair, CEO and president, 1st Global

Though the transition will be, and is, troublesome and costly, a single set of global accounting standards is necessary, particularly as the world is moving closer and closer to a global economy. This is clearly evident in the current recession we are experiencing in the U.S. because the entire world has been affected. Whether it will be the convergence of accounting standards or adoption of IFRS, one or the other must ultimately happen and if not now, sometime down the road.
-- Parnell Black, CEO, NACVA

While I don't think a single standard is a prerequisite for growth and prosperity, it could facilitate markets and the deployment of capital in ways that would support growth and prosperity. That is, as long as standards are not sought as end in itself -- which it sometimes feels like -- but because they would improve transparency through better disclosure and data availability, investor insight into company performance, and management accountability to markets.
-- David M. Blaszkowsky, Director, Office of Interactive Disclosure, SEC

Globalization is a reality, but a single set of global standards will take significant effort and time because of politics and world economic conditions. IFRS requires leadership, relationships and creativity in order to succeed.
-- L. Gary Boomer, CEO, Boomer Consulting Inc.

I believe that a single set of standards for publicly held companies and companies doing business worldwide is long overdue. For many years now we have been a global economy. Technology has been the single biggest contributing factor to this phenomenon. Technology has allowed companies to reach further to sell products and services than ever before.
-- James C. Bourke, Partner, WithumSmith+Brown

The accounting standard-setting process must be robust, transparent and independent, free from political interference and underpinned by appropriate due process that gives all stakeholders an opportunity to provide input.

It's important that accounting standards are not politicized but focused on providing relevant, timely and transparent information for investors and other users.
-- Beth Brooke, Global vice chair, Ernst & Young

The SEC needs to recognize that IFRS is the quality global standard and that trying to maintain a separate U.S. GAAP will not serve investors or other public stakeholders.
-- Robert Bunting, President, IFAC

The economy is definitely global in nature, and as such, it is imperative to have global accounting standards. One of the primary roles of the accounting profession is to attest to fairly presented financial statements. I believe that once a universally acceptable IFRS evolves, it will be easier for accountants to fulfill this obligation.

At this stage, once the IFRS are adopted, I believe the value generated will exceed the cost of compliance. We will be operating for a consistent framework for evaluating the health and performance of a business.
-- Peyton Burch, Director of partner programs, Deltek

Thus, in brief, the primary reason for moving toward IFRS is competitiveness. I think it will become increasingly difficult for the U.S. capital markets and U.S. organizations to compete in a world in which potentially we're the only country operating under a different set of accounting standards -- and therefore a different financial language. My concern is that if we do not now accelerate our move toward adoption, we will increasingly be less influential in the development of IFRS. There remain myriad unresolved issues related to the standard-setting process, the governance and funding of the standard-setting process, as well as serious and valid concerns about government intervention in IFRS standard-setting.
-- Stephen M. Chipman, CEO, Grant Thornton

Given the continuing evolution toward a world economy, globally recognized accounting standards are becoming more and more essential moving forward. In my opinion, this is an important development and rapid adoption is as important as ever.
-- David M. Cieslak, Principal, Arxis Technology Inc.

The shift to a global economy calls for the development of standards that make financial statements comparable across borders. The organizations involved in the process, such as the SEC, will need to take steps to ensure that companies and accounting professionals are provided with the tools to make the proper adjustments accordingly.
-- Scott Cook, Founder, Intuit

I think the goal of a single set of high-quality, fully vetted, global standards for publicly held companies is appropriate and should be pursued. However, the effort to over sell IFRS under the guise that, "Every country except the U.S. is doing it" is missing the mark and hurting the attainment of an appropriate goal of one set of standards.

The misinformation and outright hype and exaggeration of the acceptance worldwide of IFRS is not helping to convert federal and state regulators. It seems to me that before the "big sell" was made on IFRS in the U.S., much elementary work was and is required: Who is covered? What are the standards and what about the carve-outs? Why is IFRS superior to GAAP? Which entities should use IFRS? How should IFRS be developed, promulgated and monitored (there are grave sovereignty issues related to a foreign standard-setter)?
-- David Costello, President and CEO, NASBA

A single set of standards will be crucial to world commerce as our globe morphs into one overarching super-economy. I believe it's our leadership responsibility as accounting professionals to drive the effort. I'm disappointed the SEC is distracted and not setting a steady pace. The initiative has huge implications on not only the technical side, but the market dynamics of our profession. The initiative will create significant demand for our services, and cause further specialization of our profession.
-- Gale Crosley, President, Crosley+Co.

I think a single set of global accounting standards would be very good because it would bring uniformity to an already-confusing set of standards. Most companies that rely on CPA services cannot discern the differences between U.S. GAAP and global standards. A CPA promoting his or her services can more easily communicate the one set of standards to clients and prospects, especially if the client does business internationally.

I think is also incumbent on everyone who works in the accounting profession to take an active role in helping clients and the public understand the single set of standards, instead of relying on larger entities to solely communicate the information. Of course, the regulatory organizations will have to help the accounting professional understand "what" to communicate, but I think everyone should participate in this discussion.
-- Scott H. Cytron, President, Cytron & Co.

As the activities and interests of investors, lenders and companies have become increasingly global, it is crucial for the continued health of our global capital markets that a globally accepted, high-quality financial reporting framework is developed at both a domestic and international level. This is the only way to achieve fair, liquid and efficient capital markets worldwide by providing investors with information that is comparable, transparent and reliable. Given the unique concerns of the U.S. markets and standard-setters, convergence is the most likely method by which the implementation of a single set of global accounting standards is likely to occur.
-- Bob Dias, Vice president of marketing, CCH

I think that this is an important goal, as it creates a level playing field across continents and markets, which becomes more important as investors and their advisors look at investing and diversification with a more global view. Knowing that financial information is standardized makes it easier for investors to make more informed decisions.
-- Michael Di Girolamo, Managing director, Investment Advisors Division, Raymond James Financial Services

I support the creation of a single set of global accounting standards -- and truly believe IFRS is way overdue. A single set of standards will not only simplify the way companies conduct themselves, but encourage 100 percent adoption of ethical behavior. In addition, any time somewhat-disparate regulatory bodies can come together for a common cause -- even though the rules may be somewhat complicated to follow in the short term -- the public will appreciate the effort because it builds long-term trust and a much stronger economy.
-- Anton Donde, CEO, SpeedTax

A standardized set of global accounting standards is inevitable. I believe that eventually, through convergence, it will happen. It is just a matter of time. The broader concern is the potential variances based on size and type of business involved. With this consideration, I believe that there will be a difference in the development and implementation of global standards.
-- Loretta Doon, CEO, CalCPA,

To achieve the objective of a single set of global accounting standards will likely require an independent and well-funded standard-setting body that, while suitably accountable to the world's capital markets, is insulated from political interference and has an investor focus to its standard-setting activities.

There's no doubt that this is challenging -- both within a global network like KPMG's and more broadly across the profession -- but it's clearly the path we need to pursue to facilitate more efficient allocation of capital resources around the globe.
-- Timothy Flynn, Global chairman, KPMG

…there are many benefits to American investors and the markets. Such benefits include facilitating more efficient capital allocations by both companies and investors, promoting increased transparency of financial information given the principles-based nature of IFRS, reduced costs for companies (especially those operating in multiple jurisdictions), as well as protecting the long-term capital market competitiveness of U.S. capital markets.
-- Cynthia Fornelli, Executive director, Center for Audit Quality

Arriving at a single set of accounting standards is imperative; inconsistency breeds uncertainty, which in turn discourages investment and business activity.

The most obvious approach is to adopt IFRS -- after all, it's just U.S. GAAP against the rest of the world, at the moment. We would then work within the IFRS structure to get change. While IFRS is not perfect, it's better than the current uncertain standoff.
-- Christian Frederiksen, Chairman, The 2020 Group

As capital markets become increasingly global, U.S. investors have a corresponding increase in international investment opportunities. In this environment, I believe U.S. investors would benefit from an enhanced ability to compare financial information of U.S. companies with that of non-U.S. companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission has long expressed its support for a single set of high-quality global accounting standards as an important means of enhancing this comparability. Therefore, International Financial Reporting Standards will potentially provide the best common platform on which companies can report and investors can compare financial information.
-- J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

The idea of a single set of global accounting standards is nice, especially as business today isn't and shouldn't be limited by geographic boundaries. And more principles-based than rules-based is probably good. But standards imposed by regulatory authorities for comparability aren't all that helpful to stakeholders as would be, say, reporting that meets the true needs of these stakeholders: assurance of accuracy and relevance specific to the purpose. With something as complex as accounting, judgments are almost always necessary and exceptions seem to be the rule (captured minimally, at present, in footnotes). An approach that clarifies the judgments applied and assures transparency of the judgment process is, in my humble opinion, the more important objective. Does IFRS accomplish this any better than GAAP does?
-- Michelle Golden, Founder, Golden Practices blog

G20 Slows Goals for IFRS Adoption

The G20 group of countries has dropped an accelerated timetable for adoption of IFRS by June 2011.

At the recent Toronto summitt, the G20 stated that while they continue to emphasize the importance of completing a single set of high quality improved global accounting standards, they decided to relieve pressure on convergence of US and international standards by making no reference to the urgency of the project. Earlier, the G20 had called for convergence by a June 2011 deadline.

Prior to the summit, the IASB stated that some convergence projects would not make the June 2011 cut-off point.

Retailers Must Make Major Adjustments for New Lease Accounting

Accounting rules on leases are sure to change in the near future. International and U.S. standard-setters have both introduced new proposed standards are likely to be finished in 2011 and take effect in 2013.

The New York Times quotes the SEC as stating that $1.3 trillion in leases will be added to public company balance sheets.

The standards will add significant liabilities to balance sheets and may jack up expenses as well.

All leases will be affected, including those currently classified as operating leases and fully expensed as there is no grandfathering clause when the rule takes effect.

The standards require companies to record as a liability the cost of rent over the remaining term of the lease and record as an asset their right to use the space.

This could have diverse impacts, including weakening companies in the eyes of investors and activating debt covenants with lenders.

It could also affect credit ratings. Ratings agencies say they already take into consideration rent obligations by using a multiplier on operating lease payments to arrive at an estimate of capital lease obligations. However the new standard requires significant additional disclosures that could provide readers of financial statements with additional information about corporate leases, possibly not known before, and possibly damaging to credit capacity.

The thrust of the change is part of the trend to limit off-balance-sheet activity. The standard-setters received almost 300 comment letters commenting on the proposal.

Certain companies with high debt loads may be adversely affected by adding new debt to their balance sheets. Also impacted heavily will be large retailers that may have thousands of premises leases, as well as commercial banks with multiple branches. Tracking leases and analyzing them to convert them to on-balance-sheet status may be problematic.

The standards may have the impact of persuading companies to purchase rather than lease real estate, to avoid either the ongoing administrative burden of analyzing and classifying and accounting for capitalized leases, or to have more conventional and possibly lower-cost debt on their balance sheets.

Companies may also opt for shorter leases as they will have less debt on their balance sheets that if they have longer terms.

Renewal options may become less popular. The new rules require that if a company expects to execute a renewal option, they must account for the lease as if it included the option, in many cases doubling or tripling the face/undiscounted amount of the lease liabilities and adding debt to balance sheets.

Contingent rents, based on a percentage of sales will trigger additional debt as well, based on estimated sales over a lease term. Most retailers in shopping malls fall under these types of structures. Retailers forced now to estimate sales way into the future, and to reassess these estimates at every (quarterly).

On the other side of the lease arrangements, landlords will also change their accounting. Landlords would record as a liability their obligation to provide space and record as an asset the rents they expect to receive. Under the new standard the rents will be recorded partly as interest income and partly as a reduction in the obligation to provide space.

Big Revenue Recognition Changes to Come

FASB and the IASB yesterday released a proposed accounting standard that would create one harmonized revenue recognition standard for both U.S. GAAP and IFRS.

The standard claims to simplify and standardize accounting for revenue across industries and update standards to remedy inconsistencies in current standards and practices.

In keeping with the general thrust of principles-based standards, the new proposal will require more disclosures.

The proposal also includes guidance to clarify accounting for contract costs.

On its release, the proposal was cited as one of the most important and pervasive areas in financial reporting.

According to the IASB, the proposed standard “would make it absolutely clear when revenue is recognized—and why.” The core principle was explained as “a company should recognize revenue when it transfers goods or services to a customer in the amount of consideration the company expects to receive from the customer.”

The standard is expected to impact some long-term contracts, especially those using percentage-of-completion revenue recognition.

Significant changes:
1. Revenue would be recognized only from the transfer of goods or services to a customer.
2. A company would be required to account for all distinct goods or services, which could require it to separate a contract into different units of accounting from those identified in current practice.
3. Collectibility would affect how much revenue is recognized, rather than whether revenue is recognized.
4. Greater use of estimates would be required in determining both the amount to allocate and the basis for that allocation, which would better reflect the economics of a transaction.

FASB also created a chart showing the five steps a company would follow to apply the new revenue recognition proposals; see below.

The proposal is intended to apply to all contracts to provide goods or services to customers, except leases, insurance contracts and financial instruments.

Disclosures that are new under the proposal include qualitative and quantitative information about contracts with customers, including a maturity analysis for contracts extending beyond a year, and the significant judgments and changes in judgments made in applying the proposed standard to those contracts.

The deadline for comments on the proposal is Oct. 22. The final standard is expected in the second quarter of 2011. The modified convergence timeline keeps the June 2011 target end date for projects that have the most urgent needs.

Click for the full proposal or the overview and here for the podcast.

FASB, IASB to Miss G20 Convergence Deadline

The FASB and the IASB are set to announce that they will not meet the June 30, 2011 deadline for convergence with IFRS , requested by the G20.

FASB and IASB will announce changes to their convergence work plan that will delay completion by six months and allow for greater public comment on convergence proposals.

While it is not uncommon for accounting rulemakers to reset deadlines during their standard-setting process, the June 2011 deadline had been discussed by the G20 several times and is seen as particularly important in potentially moving U.S. companies to international standards.

According to Robert Herz, chair of FASB, to issue final standards by June 2011, the two boards would have to release about 10 proposals in the next two months and rush through the public comment process.

In the past FASB and IASB have redoubled their efforts toward convergence and in some cass have fast-tracked the comment process, in May the boards received letters from corporate executive groups saying they were "extremely concerned" about the quality of responses FASB and the IASB would get on more than 10 proposals for new rules by mid-2011.

While the G20 set a mid-2011 deadline for creating a single set of high-quality accounting rules, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's chief accountant has said recently that the deadline should not be met at the cost of lower-quality standards.

The areas of focus are revenue recognition, leases, financial instrument accounting and financial statement presentation.

Herz said he still expects a staggered release of proposals over the next seven to nine months, meaning most or all would be released by the end of 2011.