EBA欧洲银行-2011-01-31-EBA-comments-Request-for-views-Effective-dates-and-Transition-Methods_7页_197kb

EBA Summary on IASB's Request for Views on Effective Dates and Transition Methods

Core Content

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has provided detailed feedback on the IASB's Request for Views regarding the effective dates and transition methods for new or revised International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). The EBA emphasizes the importance of aligning financial reporting with prudential regulation to ensure transparency, comparability, and market discipline in the banking and financial sector.

Main Views

1. Effective Dates and Transition Methods

• The EBA supports the consideration of a single adoption date for all revised IFRSs to ensure a consistent and robust framework.
• However, it acknowledges the practical constraints of a single date and recognizes the merits of a sequential approach with logical groupings of standards.
• Early adoption should be allowed but with appropriate disclosures to ensure comparability across entities.
• The IASB should adopt a general policy on early adoption, to maintain consistency with existing IFRS transition rules.

2. Impact on Supervisory Reporting

• The EBA notes that changes in IFRS will have a significant effect on supervisory reporting, particularly through the FINREP framework.
• FINREP is based on IFRSs and is used by banking supervisory authorities for prudential returns and data collection.
• The revised FINREP (rev3) will be applied by the EBA from 1 January 2013, and will take into account all relevant IFRS amendments with the same effective date, provided they are endorsed at EU level.

3. Costs and Implementation Challenges

• The EBA identifies several standards that will require significant investment in training, planning, and implementation:
  • Financial Instruments
  • Fair Value Measurement
  • Insurance Contracts, Consolidation and Joint Arrangements
  • Leases
  • Revenue Recognition and Post Employment Benefits
• These standards may involve balance sheet reconstruction, which is more efficiently handled in a concurrent implementation.
• The EBA encourages the IASB to finalize these projects by 30 June 2011 to ensure timely adoption and reduce implementation costs.

Key Standards and Their Implications

• IFRS 4 and IFRS 9 should be implemented concurrently to avoid mismatches between insurance assets and liabilities.
• The sequential approach should group standards based on interdependencies and impact on similar instruments.
• The EBA recommends that related standards be treated consistently regarding early adoption to prevent cherry-picking.

Recommendations

• The IASB should define a general policy for early adoption, ensuring global consistency.
• Retrospective application should be the default, but simplified retrospective, prospective application, or transitional periods should be considered for standards that are highly burdensome or impracticable.
• Early adoption should be permitted for first-time adopters, but with disclosure requirements to ensure comparability and transparency.
• The IASB and FASB should strive for aligned effective dates and transition methods for comparable standards, although practical challenges may prevent full alignment.

Conclusion

The EBA believes that a pragmatic and coordinated approach to the effective dates and transition methods of new IFRSs is essential for banking supervision and financial reporting quality. It encourages the IASB to consider the prudential implications and implementation costs when setting these dates and methods.