Field Test of SME Exposure Draft
By field testing the proposals in the Exposure Draft the IASB hopes:
- to assess understandability. Identify parts of the proposed standard that field testers found hard to understand.
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to assess scope. Identify transactions, events or conditions that the field tester encountered but that are not covered in the draft IFRS for SMEs, and find out how the field tester made its accounting policy decision.
- to assess burden. Assess the burden of applying the draft IFRS for SMEs: for instance, whether information required to apply it was not available or available only with undue cost or effort.
- to assess impact. Assess the nature and degree of changes from the field tester’s current GAAP or current reporting practices.
- to assess users’ needs. Assess results from users’ perspective. Obtain the assessments of bank lenders and other users of the field tester’s financial statements about the information content of financial statements prepared using the draft IFRS for SMEs.
- to assess accounting policy choices. Where an accounting policy choice is allowed in the draft IFRS for SMEs, identify any circumstances in which the field tester chose to use an accounting policy option in a full IFRS, and why.
- to assess micro and developing country problems. Identify any special problems in applying the draft IFRS for SMEs that arise for field testers that are so-called ‘micro entities’ (those with fewer than 10 employees) and for field testers in developing economies.
- to assess the adequacy of implementation guidance. Identify where additional implementation guidance would be helpful to the field tester.
Field test companies are asked to provide background information about the company, submit their most recent annual financial statements under their existing accounting framework, prepare financial statements in accordance with the proposed IFRS for SMEs for the same financial year (though without presenting comparative prior year information), and respond to a series of questions designed to identify specific problems the field test company encountered in applying the draft IFRS for SMEs.
The IASB is working with a number of organisations, including the International Federation of Accountants, national and regional professional accountancy bodies as well as accounting standard-setters and auditing firms to identify field test companies and to help them to apply the draft IFRS for SMEs and respond to the field test questionnaire.
Closing date for the field tests
Field testers are asked to submit their financial statements and questionnaire by 31 October 2007. Responses will be treated confidentially. A report summarising and explaining the findings, without individual company data, will be made publicly available.
Field test questionnaire
To access the field test questionnaire (English version) click here. Spanish and French translations of the questionnaire will be available shortly.
Compliance Checklist
Accompanying the field test questionnaire is a Compliance Checklist for the proposed IFRS for SMEs. This checklist identifies all of the accounting recognition and measurement requirements in the Exposure Draft. It is intended to allow users of the draft IFRS for SMEs to pinpoint quickly those sections and paragraphs that are directly relevant to them.
To access the Compliance Checklist click here.
Contact
SMEs interested in participating in the field test should notify the IASB via that email address. The IASB has set up a special email address: SMEFieldTests@iasb.org.
Full contact details:
Michelle Fisher
Practice Fellow, SME Project
International Accounting Standards Board
Email: mfisher@iasb.org
Phone (Hong Kong) + (852) 2238 7047Web: www.iasb.org
Electronic (PDF) version of the Exposure Draft and related proposed implementation guidance and basis for conclusions (English, Spanish, French and German) can be downloaded without charge from the IASB’s Website.