Media releases

Representatives of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) met on 22 and 23 March, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. This meeting was the first meeting between the AASB and members of the ASBJ. Read more. 

Australian charities are burdened with a financial reporting regime that’s overly complex and inconsistent and which fails to promote the sector’s accountability or efficiency, according to research undertaken by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB).... Read more

The costs, benefits and risks of infrastructure and other public service projects will be more transparently and consistently reported to taxpayers under a new Australian accounting standard released today.... Read more

More Australian companies could be recognising amounts in dispute with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) in financial reports, under new guidance from the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRIC). The IFRIC guidance will be issued by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) shortly.... Read more

Australian Accounting Standards Board Research Director Professor Ann Tarca is the second Australian to be appointed to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Announced overnight by the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation – the body responsible for the governance and oversight of the IASB... Read more

A new report AASB and IPSASB Pronouncements – A comparison, gives Australian stakeholders a valuable resource to identify further improvements to not-for profit (NFP) financial reporting, particularly the public sector.

 ... Read more

The FRC has announced the appointment of Professor Stephen Taylor as member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). Professor Taylor is Professor of Accounting at UTS Business School.... Read more

Australian insurance analysts and preparers will benefit from improved international comparability offered by IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts, issued today by the International Accounting Standards Board... Read more

Australian stakeholders (and international investors) wanting to see clearer and more consistent and comparable tax reporting this financial year will benefit from new guidance from the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) on how to implement the Board of Taxation’s Voluntary Tax Transparency Code (the Code) ... Read more

From this year, superannuation funds will publish financial reports that clearly show the benefits members are entitled to, and whether the fund is likely to be able to pay those benefits... Read more

Proposals to define and restrict the use of unusual or infrequently occurring items in financial statements will also impact the way entities determine alternative profit measures such as underlying earnings.  The AASB is seeking views on this issue, amongst others, following the release of the IASB Discussion Paper Disclosure Initiative – Principles of Disclosure.  The IASB paper explores the challenges around providing relevant entity-specific information to users of financial statements, and proposes principles for disclosures to help preparers.... Read more

Released today, an Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) report finds Australia’s adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has been relatively smooth for most Australian business entities. Extra support however, is warranted for not-for-profit (NFP) entities ... Read more

Financial reports are set to become more relevant and concise for many not-for-profit and non-listed entities, under changes proposed today.... Read more

Financial reporting for not-for-profit entities will now more closely reflect economic reality. Revenue from grants and donations will be recognised when any associated performance obligation to provide goods or services is satisfied, and not immediately upon receipt as usually occurs with current standards.... Read more

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) welcomes the the appointment of Professor Roger Simnett as new Chair of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB).... Read more

The Financial Reporting Council has announced the following re-appointments of board members to the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB).... Read more

Australia and Korea are taking a lead role in tackling practical issues around the consistency of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), with the launch of a new report on differences in the interpretation of common accounting terms in Korea and Australia.... Read more

The new lease accounting standard brings much needed transparency to lessee lease obligations, bringing all leases onto the balance sheet.  Although it’s taken more than three decades, investors will finally have reliable information about leasing obligations, with less need for “rules of thumb” and guesses about the impact of lease obligations on a lessee’s debt gearing/leverage.... Read more

Kris Peach, AASB Chair, welcomes the re-appointment to the AASB of:

- Mr Peter Carlson, Partner, KPMG; and
- Mr Peter Gibson, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance.

This follows the FRC’s announcement that Mr Carlson is re-appointed for one year and Mr Gibson for three years.... Read more

Preparers, auditors, regulators and other parties concerned with disclosure overload will be encouraged to see the IASB’s latest initiative of providing practical examples of how to assess materiality in financial statements.... Read more

Not-for-profit (NFP) entities have been on notice for some time that financial reporting alone is not enough for donors/grantors/taxpayers.  Numerous studies have shown non-financial information about a NFP entity’s delivery of goods and/or services is essential for users to assess how well their contribution is being utilised.  The AASB's service performance reporting proposals will help close the gap between user needs and current financial reporting requirements.... Read more

Good news for not-for-profit public sector entities.  They will not need to make certain fair value disclosures about property, plant and equipment held for their current service potential.  The amendments to AASB 13 Fair Value Measurement may be early adopted to apply for 30 June 2015 year ends.... Read more

The Australian Accounting Standards Board’s (AASB) Academic Advisory Panel has been launched this week. Academic research is crucial to Australia making an impact on international standard setting and enhancing Australian financial reporting.... Read more

Accounting for infrastructure assets by some not-for-profit public sector entities may change as a result of an Agenda Decision issued by the AASB today.  If applicable, there could be increased depreciation and lower reported profits.  The common practice in the sector of measuring infrastructure assets at fair value will also add an additional level of complexity to understanding the overall impact of the Agenda Decision.... Read more

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) has retained membership of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF), the prestigious advisory group to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), despite the membership shakeup.  The AASB will be working with the New Zealand Accounting Standards Board (NZASB).... Read more

Are assets still assets, and liabilities still liabilities?  Which transactions should be ‘recycled’ from other comprehensive income to profit or loss?  Do you agree that profit or loss is more important than other comprehensive income?... Read more

More government assets and liabilities will be recognised on balance sheet for major public infrastructure projects financed by the private sector, such as toll roads, hospitals and prisons (service concession arrangements (SCA)), as a result of new proposals issued by the AASB. Such projects will also be recognised earlier, generally from when construction commences, rather than when construction is completed. These changes are likely to increase reported government debt levels.... Read more

The AASB’s new proposals for income recognition in the not-for-profit sector may result in better matching of income and expenditure than the current standard AASB 1004 Contributions.... Read more

Kris Peach, Chair of the AASB, commented “The black hole of public sector not-for-profit related party disclosures has now been filled.  Consistent related party disclosure requirements will now apply to the Australian Government, State Governments, local councils and other not-for-profit public sector entities from 1 July 2016.”... Read more

Directors and Chief Financial Officers concerned with classification of loans / debts as current or non-current will be relieved that the latest proposals from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) provide clarity on that distinction.... Read more

Company directors, Chief Financial Officers and others will be encouraged that the AASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are working on a range of initiatives to address concerns about disclosure overload in financial statements. As part of that effort, the AASB today issued amendments to AASB 101 Presentation of Financial Statements to clarify that entities should not be disclosing immaterial information and that the presentation of information in notes can and should be tailored to provide investors and other users with the clearest story of an entity’s financial performance and financial position. ... Read more

The complete version of AASB 9 (2014) Financial Instruments has now been issued. It supersedes AASB 9 (2009), AASB 9 (2010) and AASB 139 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and applies to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018.... Read more