2009-10-05 GAAP for Private Enterprises Approved - Available for 2009 Early Adoption

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The Accounting Standards Board has approved the final accounting standards for private enterprises in Canada. This newsletter notes the significant changes from the proposals in the exposure draft.

Final standards approved for private enterprises The Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has approved the final accounting standards for private enterprises in Canada.

The new standards will be issued by the end of the year and will be available for 2009 reporting for entities that choose to adopt them early.
Changes from the exposure draft There have been several significant changes from the proposals in the exposure draft. These are outlined below:

Financial instruments
  • A fair value option has been added permitting an enterprise to elect fair value measurement for any instrument. This election will be made on initial recognition and is irrevocable.
  • Enterprises should capitalize transaction costs for financial instruments measured at amortized cost.
Employee future benefits
  • The scope of the simplified approach for defined benefit plans has been widened to include all defined benefit plans. Enterprises adopting the simplified approach must use this approach for all defined benefit plans.
EIC Abstracts
  • Principles in several EIC Abstracts relating to financial instruments, revenue, income taxes and related party transactions have been incorporated into the standards.
Disclosures
  • Requirements to disclose management compensation and amounts of government remittances in arrears have been deleted. Some changes have been made to other disclosure requirements.
Press release A link to the press release issued by the Accounting Standards Board is attached below:

http://www.acsbcanada.org/media-releases/item30810.pdf