Progress on SME Q&As
21 February 2012
The public comment period has now ended on the following two draft Q&As relating to the IFRS for SMEs. After considering the comments, staff have proposed some minor clarifying changes and have sent drafts of final Q&As to the SME Implementation Group for a 30-day review period to obtain their approval to send to the Board:
The SME Implementation Group is currently coming to the end of their 30-day review period of the following draft Q&As:
- General Issue 1 - Application of the IFRS for SMEs for financial periods ending before the IFRS for SMEs was issued
- General Issue 2 - Interpretation of 'undue cost or effort' and 'impracticable'
- Section 3 Issue 1 - Jurisdiction requires fallback to full IFRSs
- Section 3 Issue 2 - Departure from a principle in the IFRS for SMEs
- Section 3 Issue 3 - Prescription of the format of financial statements by local regulation
When the IASB issued the IFRS for SMEs in 2009, it made a commitment to undertake a comprehensive post-implementation review of the standard. The IASB expects to initiate the review in the second half of 2012. The review is expected to include a request for public comments on amendments that should be considered for the standard. As part of the review, the IASB will also consider incorporating Q&As into the revised IFRS for SMEs. For that reason, the SMEIG does not expect that it will issue many, if any, additional draft Q&As before the start of the comprehensive review.