CA Magazine might be freely giving away their content for the benefit of all stakeholders in the CA profession and public accounting in general, but the goodwill doesn’t extend to the CICA when it comes to Canadian accounting and auditing standards. The CICA, through the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), develops public accounting standards through aContinue reading “Are accounting standards public enough?”
Category Archives: Accounting Standards
Inching towards international accounting standards in the US
In Canada, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has already taken the first steps of convergence with international standards by outlining the plan under which publicly accountable enterprises will transition completely to IFRS. The change will occur over the next 5 years, and the Board expects the changeover process to be complete by fiscal years beginningContinue reading “Inching towards international accounting standards in the US”
7 quick facts about the new financial instruments standard
The Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has finalized some new sections of the Handbook which include guidance on accounting for financial instruments. Financial instruments include investments, hedges, derivatives, and loans and receivables. The Canadian standard attempts to harmonize our GAAP in a way with FASB Statement 133, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities,” andContinue reading “7 quick facts about the new financial instruments standard”
Scots tout principles in the Big Apple
The Scotsman: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland will tell high-powered US financiers at a conference in New York that individual judgment should play a bigger role than strict adherence to a rule book. Ah, this old classic. Once again the rules-based US system is coming under attack by external sources, this time fromContinue reading “Scots tout principles in the Big Apple”
Income trust standards (or lack thereof) and risk
So everyone and their grandpa is still upset about the recent change to income trusts introduced by the Canadian federal government. The change was, of course, to implement a tax on trust income similar to corporate income tax. The outrage epicentre is Bay Street, Canada’s version of Wall Street, in the heart of the financialContinue reading “Income trust standards (or lack thereof) and risk”