International Financial AccountingThis article focuses on International Accounting Standards Board and how it There is an exploration of the roles of other entities such as the International Federation of Accountants and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards B Topics discussed include the goals and objectives of each entity and how they may work together on issues of due OverviewThe International Accounting Standards BoardMultiple， country-based accounting standards in Europe make it very difficult to compare the successes of companies registered in different In order to provide a single set of standards， the International Accounting Standards (IAS) Board was The European Union (EU) requires all companies listed on a stock exchange in an EU country to comply with IAS starting January 1， In addition to the EU， Hong Kong， Korea， Singapore， Australia， Canada， and most recently， Russia have announced either their support for， or adoption of the IAS The IAS strongly encourages businesses to review and standardize their existing business processes， practices， and systems to support the new Organization of the International Accounting Standards BoardThe International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is an independent， privately-funded accounting standard-agency and its headquarters is in L The board members represent nine countries and they come from a variety of backgrounds and bring diverse credentials and experiences to the The IASB’s goal is to develop a set of high quality global accounting guidelines for financial statements that are understandable and The IASB also collaborates with national accounting standards agencies to make sure that everyone is in agreement around the International Accounting StandardsThe International Accounting Standards (IASs) were issued by the IASC from 1973 to However， the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) was replaced with the IASB in 2001 (IASPlus，)Since that time， the IASB has amended international accounting standards (IASs)， replaced IASs with new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)。IFRSs refer to the entire body of IASB pronouncements， which includes the standards and interpretations that have been approved by the IASB， IASs， and ISC interpretations approved by the IASC Committees have worked to issue Interpretations of S The Interpretations of Standards assist in determining whether or not financial statements are in compliance with IFRS In order to be in compliance， the statements must meet all of the requirements for each applicable standard and each applicable The IASB framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements may be used as a guide in order to resolve accounting issues that are not addressed in the ApplicationDue ProcessThere is a handbook that describes how the International Accounting Standards Board operates and proceeds with due The framework of the due process system is provided in the Constitution of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) and the International Financial Reporting S The handbook reflects the public consultation conducted by the IASB in 2004 and The Trustees’ Procedures Committee (part of the IASC) has been charged with regularly reviewing and amending the due process This committee is responsible for amending the procedures of due process based on feedback from the IASB and In addition， the committee has been charged with reviewing proposed procedures on new projects and the composition of working This handbook was approved on March 23， The procedures in the handbook (2006) address the following requirements:• Transparency and The IASB is responsible for adding topics to its agenda after it has surveyed the membership and conducted research on the The proposed agenda items are discussed at IASB meetings， and these meetings are open to the IASB meetings are also broadcast and archived on the IASB’s • Extensive consultation and The IASB solicits feedback from various constituencies in order to collect information from a wide range of In addition， the IASB will arrange public hearings and field visits as well as set up focus groups to promote After the IASB has listened to all of these groups， it will adopt • A The IASB will explain its reasons if it decides to omit any non-mandatory steps of the consultative process as described in the C The trustees are responsible for reviewing and ensuring compliance with the IASB’s procedures and mandates， considering the ISAB’s agenda， and conducting annual reviews of the IASB’s performance (International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation， 2006)Stages of International Accounting Standards Board Due ProcessAccording to the Due Process Handbook， there are six stages to the process， and the trustees are responsible for ensuring that there is compliance at different points throughout the The six stages are:Stage 1: Setting the Agenda - The IASB has to consider the following items when deciding whether or not a proposed agenda item will address the users’ needs:• The relevance to users of the information and the reliability of information that could be provided;• Existing guidance available;• The possibility of increasing convergence;• The quality of the standard to be developed;• Resource When considering future agenda items， the IASB staff is responsible for identifying， reviewing and evaluating topics that may warrant the IASB’s In addition， there may be new proposals that have risen as a result of a change in the IASB’s conceptual Agenda items are also generated via comments from other interested parties such as other standard There are times when the IASB receives requests from constituents to interpret， review or amend existing The staff is charged with compiling a list of these requests， summarizing major and common issues raised， and presenting them to the IASBStage 2: Project Planning - When adding an item to its agenda， the IASB has to determine if it is feasible to conduct the project alone or jointly with another standard- If it is a joint project， similar due process is followed under both After considering the nature of the issues and the level of interest among constituents， the IASB may establish a working group at this The Director of Technical Activities and the Director of Research， the two most senior members of the technical staff， select a project team for the project， and the project manager draws up a project plan under the supervision of those D The project team may also include members of staff from other accounting standard-Stage 3: Development and Publication of a Discussion Paper– The IASB normally publishes a discussion paper as its first publication on any major new topic as a vehicle to explain the issue and solicit comments from If the IASB decides to omit this step， it will state its In most cases， a discussion paper includes a comprehensive overview of the issue， possible approaches in addressing the issue， the preliminary views of its authors or the IASB， and an invitation to This approach may differ if another accounting standard-setter develops the research Discussion papers may result either from a research project being conducted by another accounting standard-setter or as the first stage of an active agenda project carried out by the IASB In the first case， the discussion paper is drafted by another accounting standard-setter and published by the IASB Issues related to the discussion paper are discussed in IASB meetings， and publication of such a paper requires a majority vote by the IASB If the discussion paper includes the preliminary views of other authors， the IASB reviews the draft discussion paper to ensure that its analysis is an appropriate basis on which to invite public Stage 4: Development and Publication of an Exposure Draft– Publication of an exposure draft is a mandatory step in due An exposure draft is the IASB’s main vehicle for soliciting feedback from the Unlike a discussion paper， an exposure draft sets out a specific proposal in the form of a proposed standard (or amendment to an existing standard) The development of an exposure draft begins with the IASB considering issues on the basis of staff research and recommendations， as well as comments received on any discussion paper， and suggestions made by the SAC， working groups and accounting standard-setters and arising from public education After resolving issues at its meetings， the IASB instructs the staff to draft the exposure When the draft has been completed， and the IASB has balloted on it， the IASB publishes it for public Stage 5: Development and Publication of an IFRS – After resolving issues arising from the exposure draft， the IASB considers whether it should expose its revised proposals for public comment ( by publishing a second exposure ) In considering the need for re-exposure， the IASB will:• Identify substantial issues that emerged during the comment period on the exposure draft that it had not previously considered;• Assess the evidence that it has considered;• Evaluate whether it has sufficiently understood the issues and actively sought the views of constituents;• Consider whether the various viewpoints were aired in the exposure draft and adequately discussed and reviewed in the basis for conclusions on the exposure Stage 6: Procedures After An IFRS Is Issued - After an IFRS is issued， the staff and the IASB members hold regular meetings with interested parties， including other standard-setting bodies， to help understand unanticipated issues related to the practical implementation and potential impact of its The IASC Foundation also sponsors educational activities to ensure consistency in the application of IFRS After a suitable time， the IASB may consider initiating studies in light of:• Its review of the IFRS’s application;• Changes in the financial reporting environment and regulatory requirements;• Comments by the SAC， the IFRIC， standard-setters and constituents about the quality of the IFRSViewpointInternational Public Sector Accounting StandardsThe International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is the worldwide organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international IFAC is comprised of 155 members and associates in 118 countries， representing more than 5 million accountants in public practice， education， government service， industry and commerce (IFAC， ) The organization， through its independent standard-setting boards， sets international standards of ethics， auditing and assurance， education and public sector It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in
