AcSB Decision Summary – April 20, 2017
An executive summary of discussions and decisions with respect to the topics addressed at this meeting. As reported by The Standard.
This summary of Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) decisions has been prepared for information purposes only. Decisions reported are tentative and reflect only the current status of discussion on projects, which may change after further deliberations by the AcSB. Decisions to publish Handbook material are final only after a formal ballot process.
Standards for Private Enterprises
Consultation on Priorities for Part II of the Handbook
The AcSB discussed an analysis of stakeholder feedback through prior outreach activities relating to Section 3840, Related Party Transactions. The AcSB decided that the following themes merit further consultation with stakeholders:
- accounting for business combinations under common control; and
- determining how to measure transactions involving items that are not financial in nature.
The AcSB decided that further targeted outreach should be conducted to identify whether there are additional stakeholder concerns that should be considered before determining the scope of any future projects on this topic. The AcSB also directed the staff to consider similarities in the characteristics of combinations of private enterprises and not-for-profit organizations.
The AcSB discussed the complexities with the measurement of related party financial instruments and agreed to further deliberate this issue at its next meeting in the context of its Section 3856, Financial Instruments project.
Private Enterprise Data Analysis
The AcSB considered an analysis of recent aggregated data from a third-party source regarding private enterprises. This data provided insights into the:
- number of private enterprises in Canada;
- relative size of private enterprises by province and industry;
- number of private enterprises that applied IFRSs;
- frequency of acquisitions and amalgamations;
- regularity of Section 85 rollover transactions executed in a tax planning arrangement; and
- number of employer contributed benefit plans.
The AcSB also discussed how the data could be used in its activities and what additional information would be useful on an ongoing basis to advance its objectives of evidence-based decision making.