ThinkTWENTY20

Given that Canadian public companies follow International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the objective of Canada’s ASB is to support its stakeholders with implementation through targeted activities, such as the following: 

• Monitor: The ASB closely monitoring developments for the Financial Instruments, Revenue and Leases standards and will participate in consultation activities whenever they are available. It is also monitoring implementation issues using existing standards, such as developments in the cannabis industry, cloud computing and accounting for cryptocurrencies.
• Implementation guidance and communications: The ASB continues to focus on the status of the global and Canadian implementation of the new Insurance standard, through regular meetings with sub-groups of the insurance industry including life and health, property and casualty, mortgage insurers and workers compensation boards. We will also be in regular contact with IASB members and staff, and staff of other national standard setters and prudential regulators. 

In addition, it is incorporating into the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting the “Bases for Conclusions” issued by the IASB that supports and supplements IFRS. With IASB’s “Bases for Conclusions on Financial Instruments, Revenue and Leases, Insurance Contracts and Conceptual Framework” already in the Handbook, 2019-2020 will see IASB guidance for IFRS 3, “Business Combinations,” and IFRS 13, “Fair Value Measurement,” also incorporated. 

Finally, the ASB also plans to continue to identity unnecessary differences between IFRS Standards and U.S. GAAP and advocate for change.

For private enterprises, 2019-2020 will have the ASB continue to focus on the areas that are causing private enterprises difficulties when reporting. It will be moving forward the work on the Related Party Transactions, Employee Future Benefits and Financial Statement Concepts projects. A new Agriculture standard will be issued and included in the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting. The ASB will also issue an exposure draft on the narrow-scope amendments to the Revenue standard.

In the area of non-for-profit organizations, the ASAB plans to continue to move forward the work on topics of importance to NFPOs, namely contributions and combinations. It will issue a consultation paper for contributions and an exposure draft for combinations.