International update: July 2019

IASB

The most recent Board meeting resulted in some important decisions on key projects including goodwill and impairment, rate-regulated activities and primary financial statements. The Board also discussed IFRS for SMEs and the feedback it has received on the Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity project. The goodwill and impairment discussion was the culmination of more than two years’ work, and included consideration of the crucial question of whether the Board should continue with its impairment-only approach or reintroduce amortisation of goodwill; there were strong opinions on both sides and although the final decision came down in favour of the former, the result was close. The Board’s lively debate on this aspect of the topic will be covered in next month’s WAR, which will also look at recent developments in the US (see FASB news on page 7). Otherwise, this article covers the main points discussed in the meeting (including other conclusions on the goodwill project) except for those related to rate-regulated activities which are covered in the “News and analysis” section.