The New CICA Financial Instrument Standards: An Overview

Download

In April 2005, the Accounting Standards Board issued CICA Handbook Section 3855, Financial Instruments – Recognition and Measurement, along with two companion standards, Section 1530, Comprehensive Income, and Section 3865, Hedges. These standards triggered nearly 100 pages of consequential amendments to other Handbook sections, including a new section on equity. They apply to all profit-oriented enterprises and, except for Section 1530, to all not-for-profit organizations. The sections are effective for years starting on or after October 1, 2006, but an entity can adopt them earlier if it wishes.

Many, if not most, will find the new requirements difficult to understand and challenging to apply. In this publication, we try to help you meet this challenge by providing an overview of the standards — a fly-over, if you will, at 100,000 feet. It is a measure of the comprehensive nature of the requirements that, even from this lofty height, our review needs more than 20 pages.

A copy of our Overview is available by downloading the PDF attached.