The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has completed the final step in the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for investment funds.
The CSA Thursday published final amendments to National Instrument 81-106 Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure, its Companion Policy and related amendments. Investment funds must apply the changes for financial years beginning on or after January 1.
Initially proposed in 2009, the IFRS-related amendments to were deferred and not finalized at the time securities legislation was first changed to accommodate the transition to IFRS by registrants and reporting issuers, other than investment funds, for financial years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2011. In 2010, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) recognized a potentially significant accounting issue for investment funds and made revisions in 2012 to largely resolve this issue.
To accommodate the timing of the IASB revisions, the Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) issued a deferral of the mandatory IFRS changeover date for investment funds for three years until Jan. 1, 2014.
The CSA was also of the view that it was preferable to wait for the IASB’s revisions before IFRS was adopted by investment funds in Canada.
The final amendments published today reflect comments received on the 2009 proposal, additional stakeholder consultations and further IASB developments related to investment funds. The changes impact investment fund requirements relating to the presentation of financial statements and terminology to reflect the transition to IFRS.