The ASBJ and the IASB hold fifth meeting

29 March 2007

On 27 and 28 March 2007 in Tokyo, the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) held their fifth joint meeting towards the final goal of achieving convergence of Japanese generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). Six ASBJ members, including Professor Shizuki Saito, Chairman, and staff on behalf of the ASBJ and four IASB members including Sir David Tweedie, Chairman, and staff on behalf of the IASB attended the meeting.

At this latest in their series of joint meetings, the representatives of the boards discussed the following items:

The progress that has been made by the ASBJ regarding the short-term projects, and certain longer-term projects, including intangible assets (including R&D expenses), retrospective restatement, and scope of consolidation (disclosure related to special purpose entities)
Certain topics addressed in Practical Issues Task Force (PITF) No.18 Practical Solution on Unification of Accounting Policies Applied to Foreign Subsidiaries for Consolidated Financial Statements
The latest developments in the IASB’s projects on post-retirement benefits*
The latest developments in the IASB’s joint projects with the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) regarding measurement issues in the Conceptual Framework and business combinations*

*These technical sessions were held open for public observation in accordance with the agreement at the fourth joint meeting.

In addition, at the request of the IASB, the ASBJ provided information about the Japanese accounting standard for business combination transactions between entities under common control.

The representatives of the boards confirmed that progress has been made in the joint project based on their respective project plans.

Both boards believe that these discussions are useful in promoting mutual understanding that will contribute to subsequent deliberations at the respective boards.

Professor Shizuki Saito, Chairman of the ASBJ stated,

Through the series of joint meetings since 2005, we have made important progress towards convergence between Japanese GAAP and IFRSs. I appreciate the contribution of the IASB members including Sir David, Chairman, and staff, and their co-operation throughout the joint project.

Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the IASB stated,

The IASB representatives are grateful to the ASBJ’s retiring chairman, Professor Saito, for his leadership and co-operation throughout the joint convergence project. With his encouragement, the differences between Japanese standards and IFRSs are being removed.

The next meeting will be held in London in September 2007.

Press enquiries:

Mark Byatt, Director of Corporate Communications, IASB,

telephone: +44 (0)20 7246 6472, email: mbyatt@iasb.org

Notes to Editors

About the IASB

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), based in London, began operations in 2001. Contributions collected by its Trustees, the IASC Foundation, from the major accounting firms, private financial institutions and industrial companies throughout the world, central and development banks, and other international and professional organisations fund the operations of the IASB.

The 14 Board members (12 of whom are full-time) are drawn from nine countries and have wide international experience and a variety of functional backgrounds. The IASB is committed to developing, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, global accounting standards that require transparent and comparable information in general purpose financial statements. In pursuit of this objective, the IASB co-operates with national accounting standard-setters to achieve convergence in accounting standards around the world.