IASB Exposure Draft on Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Comments to be received by October 11, 2010).

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have issued this Exposure Draft to improve and align the financial reporting of revenue from contracts with customers and related costs. If adopted, the proposal would create a single revenue recognition standard for International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) that would be applied across various industries and capital markets. The publication of this joint proposal represents a significant step forward toward global convergence in one of the most important and pervasive areas in financial reporting. The proposed standard would replace IAS 18 Revenue, IAS 11 Construction Contracts and related interpretations. In US GAAP, it would supersede most of the guidance on revenue recognition in Topic 605 of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification.

The core principle of the draft standard is that an entity should recognise revenue from contracts with customers when it transfers goods or services to the customer in the amount of consideration the entity receives, or expects to receive, from the customer. The proposed standard would improve both IFRSs and US GAAP by:

removing inconsistencies in existing requirements;
providing a more robust framework for addressing revenue recognition issues;
improving comparability across companies, industries and capital markets;
requiring enhanced disclosure; and
clarifying the accounting for contract costs.
 
Invitation to comments
 
ASB invites comments on the Exposure Draft from the public. The downloadable version of the draft is available at http://www.ifrs.org/NR/rdonlyres/EFA36EF7-238C-4C88-9C36-D6AACEB7762F/0/EDRevRecogSt0610.pdf, whereas Basis for Conclusions is available at http://www.ifrs.org/NR/rdonlyres/74EDB059-C251-495E-9CE3-B5D221CCC7BA/0/EDRevRecogBC0610.pdf. Comments would be most helpful if they indicate the specific paragraph or group of paragraphs to which they relate, contain a clear rationale and, where applicable, provide a suggestion for alternative wording.

Comments should be submitted in writing to the Secretary, Accounting Standards Board, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, ICAI Bhawan, Post Box No. 7100, Indraprastha Marg, New Delhi-110002, so as to be received not later than October 11, 2010. Comments can also be sent by e-mail at asb@icai.org or edcommentsasb@icai.org.