IFRS Releases 2017 Taxonomy
Hot on the heels of announcements from the European regulator, ESMA and the US regulator, the SEC, that IFRS disclosures will shortly need to be made digitally, the IASB announced yesterday that the 2017 IFRS Taxonomy is available, representing the IFRS accounting standards as they stand on 1 January 2017.
The IFRS taxonomy has been updated to take account of changes to IFRS 7, as part of the Disclosure Initiative, specifically new measures to record changes in liabilities arising from financing activities. These changes can be used for disclosures on or after 1 January 2017.
It has also been updated to take account of the September 2016 publication by the IASB of changes to IFRS 4 in relation to insurance contracts, including disclosures associated with certain kinds of P&L reclassifications, disclosures related to other comprehensive income, and disclosures related to elections to utilise the overlay approach to reclassifications. These parts of the taxonomy can be applied immediately in our understanding. The temporary exemption from IFRS 9 disclosures for insurance firms that were introduced by the IFRS 4 changes are also covered although they will not be published until 2018, which is when they come into effect.
A range of additional common practice elements covering agriculture, leisure, franchises, retail and certain financial institutions have also been added to the taxonomy.
The IFRS standards are used by more than 140 countries to govern reporting by public companies. The IFRS standards are developed by the independent International Accounting Standards Board and its staff, based in London, with input from accounting experts from around the world. The IFRS Foundation supports the consistent application and implementation of IFRSs. In our view the work of the taxonomy team is now an increasingly important part of this effort. You can find the taxonomy here, together with a wide range of descriptive and illustrative materials.
