Looking for a silver lining in IAS 19 cloud

Recent debate on IAS 19 at the interpretations committee of the International Accounting Standards Board has hinted at a relaxation of the rules governing the asset ceiling of running-down defined benefit schemes, writes Stephen Bouvier

January 2006 heralded the implementation of International Accounting Standard IAS 19. And if the new year is the silver lining, IAS 19 – at least on past perception – could well turn out to be the year’s most ominous cloud.

But IAS 19 news need not always be the harbinger of doom, because the International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee (IFRIC) of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has recently hinted that a less restrictive interpretation of IAS 19, as currently drafted, might be on the cards in respect of the asset ceiling.

The IASB succeeded the IASC as the body responsible for setting International Accounting Standards. Currently, it is broadly the case that an entity’s financial reports vary according to locally generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP). The IASB is charged with unifying global reporting practices so that entities report on a standardised basis.

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