The look ahead: FASB and IASB meet in London; GASB discusses financial projections and pensions


FASB and IASB to meet in London

Discussions on insurance contracts and financial instruments lead the agenda for four days of joint meetings between FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which are taking place through Thursday in London.

Webcasts of each day’s discussions and a full agenda are available through the IFRS website. Topics of decision-making sessions on insurance contracts include reinsurance, and contract modifications and riders.

The financial instruments topics will include impairment, and classification and measurement. FASB and the IASB also will begin redeliberating on the investment entities project, discussing summaries of the feedback received on their exposure drafts. No decisions will be reached on investment entities at this meeting.

FASB and the IASB will also jointly hold public round-table meetings on their ED on revenue recognition from 4 to 7 a.m. EDT and 8 to 11 a.m. EDT Friday in London.

The meetings will be available by audio webcast through the IFRS website. The boards will discuss the proposed, revised Accounting Standards Update (ASU) known under FASB’s codification as Revenue Recognition (Topic 605) : Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The IASB calls the proposal Revenue From Contracts with Customers.

Under the core principle of the proposed standard, entities would recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount reflecting the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.

The boards are holding the round-table meetings to facilitate constructive dialogue with a wide variety of stakeholders.

Economic condition reporting, pensions

GASB will meet Tuesday through Friday to discuss key issues such as pension accounting and nonexchange-based guarantees.

The week will start with a public hearing to receive feedback on GASB’s preliminary views on Economic Condition Reporting: Financial Projections from 8:55 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT in East Elmhurst, N.Y.

GASB will meet in Norwalk, Conn., on Wednesday through Friday to discuss topics including feedback received on the ED Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions; deliberate on issues associated with nonexchange-based financial guarantees; and the use of replacement cost as a fair value measurement and fair value disclosures.

CGMA Global Economic Forecast webcast

The global economy will also be the talk of the CGMA Global Economic Forecast audio webcast on Wednesday. The webcast, which runs from 11 a.m. to noon EDT, will discuss the findings of the new quarterly survey of AICPA and CIMA members.

Chartered Global Management Accountants have become more confident about current economic conditions. However, optimism about the global economy as a whole was still at low levels and the outlook for business prospects varies by region.

The survey of more than 600 business leaders who carry the CGMA designation showed that executives in the U.S. and emerging markets were most upbeat. Pessimism was most prevalent in Europe and the U.K. Respondents from Asia lost a little confidence as economic growth in China and India began to slow in the first quarter. But participants in Asia still were more confident than those in Europe.

CGMA designation holders can earn one free CPD credit and learn about worldwide economic trends by participating in the webcast. Participation in the webcast is free for those not seeking CPD. The webcast will feature leading CGMA executives in a dialogue with Alasdair Ross, global product director and editor of the Economist Intelligence Unit Risk Briefing. Victor Smart, CIMA director of profile and communications, will moderate the webcast.

CGMA designation holders must be logged in to receive their discount for CPD credit, which is available for $55 for AICPA members and $68.75 for non-members.

To sign up for the webcast, click here.

For more previews of international economic events in the week ahead, visit CGMA Magazine.

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