ASC Grants Stakeholders Additional Time for Implementing Standards

The ASC has clarified that it would grant stakeholders additional time for implementing the 'package of five' standards that addresses consolidation accounting, disclosure of involvements with other organizations and involvement in joint arrangements. The date by which the standards would become effective has now been delayed by a year and now they will be applied to annual years starting on or after 1^st of January 2014. Organizations can now opt for early adoption of standards.

The 5 standards including Financial Reporting Standard 110 Consolidated Financial Statements, Financial Reporting Standards 111 Joint Arrangements, Financial Reporting Standards 112 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities, Financial Reporting Standards 27 Separate Financial Statements and Financial Reporting Standards 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures were earlier scheduled for application to annual years starting on or after the 1^st of January 2013.

The Singapore Accounting Standards Council (ASC) noted that after the introduction of the Relevant Standards, it has found that the stakeholders were facing major challenges in implementing the standards and they had not imagined that they would have to deal with such challenges at all. They also learnt that additional time would be required for implementing the plan related to combining of the Relevant Standards. The ASC has therefore decided that it is best for them to provide stakeholders with additional time for implementing the Relevant Standards. Globally, there have been several calls for deferring the standards. Even the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group had indicated that the implementation of the Relevant Standards should be delayed.

The Accounting Standards Act was basically given a go ahead in the Parliament on the 27^th of August in the year 2007 and it further became effective from 1^st of November in the year 2007. After the Accounting Standards Act was enacted, the Accounting Standards Council was incepted to design accounting standards that would be applicable to entities and for publishing accounting principles for co-operative societies, charities and other societies. The Accounting Standards Councils mandate is to design, amend, approve and review finance related reporting principles/standards for organizations in its range, taking into consideration the information requirements of the organizations’ stakeholders, compatibility factor with important international reporting standards, facilitation of comparability, transparency and disclosures and Singapore’s repute as a trustworthy finance and international business hub.