AASB extends deadline for comments

AASB extends deadline for comments on exposure drafts to remove special purpose financial statements

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (Board) announced in its Action Alert from its September 2019 Board meeting that it would be extending the period for interested parties to submit comments on recent  exposure drafts (EDs) which propose removing special purpose financial statements (SPFS) for periods beginning on or after 1 July 2020.

The two EDs in question are:

  • ED 295 General Purpose Financial Statements – Simplified Disclosures for For-Profit and Not-for-profit Tier 2 Entities
  • ED 297 Removal of Special Purpose Financial Statements for Certain For-Profit Private Sector Entities.

ED 297 Removal of Special Purpose Financial Statements for Certain For-Profit Private Sector Entities

ED 297 proposes to remove special purpose financial statements for for-profit private sector entities that are required by:

  • Legislation to prepare financial statements in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards or ‘accounting standards’, or
  • Their constitutions or other documents (e.g. lending agreements) to prepare financial statements in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards, provided that the relevant document was created or amended on or after 1 July 2020.

ED 295 General Purpose Financial Statements – Simplified Disclosures for For-Profit and Not-for-profit Tier 2 Entities

ED 295 proposes a new Simplified Disclosure Regime (SDR) for Tier 2 entities preparing general purpose financial statements based on disclosures contained in the IASB’s IFRS for SMEs standard. SDR is intended to reduce the level of disclosures currently required by the Reduced Disclosure Requirements (RDR).

Deadline extended

The original comment deadline of 15 November 2019 has been extended to 30 November 2019 for both of the above EDs. We encourage all interested parties to respond within this time frame. The Board has indicated that submissions received after the revised closing date will not be considered because it is important to progress this project so that final standards are made available for entities to early adopt by 30 June 2020, including transitional provisions where entities change from special purpose, to general purpose financial statements.

More information

Please refer to our previous Accounting News articles on ED 295 and ED 297 for more information.