The International Financial Reporting Interpretations
Committee (IFRIC) of the International Accounting Standards Board
amended Interpretation 12, Consolidation—Special Purpose Entities
(
www.iasb.org/news/iasb.asp ) to remove its scope exclusion of
equity compensation plans. Consequently, entities will have to
consolidate employee benefit trusts they set up for use in share-based
payment arrangements. The amendment also expands the scope exclusion
in the interpretation for postemployment benefit plans to include
“other long-term employee benefit plans.” IFRIC made these changes to
ensure the interpretation was consistent with International Accounting
Standard 19, Employee Benefits (as amended in 2002), which no
longer applied to equity compensation plans after International
Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 2, Share-Based Payment,
became effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2005.
International
