Issued January 20, 2014 (No. 36)

Contents

1. Overview of ASBJ Meetings (273rd – 276th Meeting)
2. ASBJ’s Comment Submissions to the IASB and the FASB (October 1, 2013– November 30, 2013)
3. The 15th Regular Meeting with FASB held in Tokyo
4. The 13th China-Japan-Korea Meeting held in Tokyo
5. The 5th AOSSG Annual Meeting held in Colombo
6. Appointment of Members of the Standards Advisory Council

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1. Overview of ASBJ Meetings (273rd – 276th Meeting)(1) 273rd Meeting (held on October 3, 2013)
a. Report on the second meeting of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF)
b. Responses to the IASB’s Exposure Draft Insurance Contracts, and the FASB’s Exposure Draft
Insurance Contracts
c. Progress of Working Group for Endorsement of IFRSsa.

An outline of the discussions held at the second meeting of the Accounting Standards AdvisoryForum (ASAF) held in London on September 25 and 26, 2013 was presented.

b.

The Board discussed its draft comments on the IASB’s revised Exposure Draft (ED) InsuranceContracts, issued on June 20, 2013, and the FASB’s Proposed Accounting Standards Update
Insurance Contracts (Topic 834), issued on June 27, 2013.

c.

The Board reviewed the progress made by the Working Group for Endorsement of IFRSs in
selecting possible items for consideration.
(2) 274th Meeting (held on October 17, 2013)
a. Responses to the IASB’s ED Insurance Contracts, and the FASB’s ED Insurance Contracts
b. Responses to the IASB’s Discussion Paper A Review of the Conceptual Framework for Financial
Reportingc. Reports on international meetings
d. Progress of Working Group for Endorsement of IFRSs
e. Discussion on practical solutions for transactions that deliver the company’s own stock throughtrustsa.

The Board discussed its draft comments on the IASB’s revised Exposure Draft Insurance
Contracts, and the FASB’s Proposed Accounting Standards Update Insurance Contracts (Topic834).

b.

The Board discussed its draft comments on the IASB’s Discussion Paper A Review of theConceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, particularly focusing on Section 2 “Elements offinancial statements,” Section 3 “Additional guidance to support the asset and liabilitydefinitions,” and Section 4 “Recognition and derecognition.”c.

Outlines of the following meetings were reported: the meeting of the International Forum ofAccounting Standard Setters (IFASS) held on September 19-20, 2013; the interim meeting of theAsian-Oceanian Standards Setters Group (AOSSG) held on September 22, 2013: and the meetingof the World Standard-Setters (WSS) held on September 23-24, 2013.

d.

The Board reviewed the progress made by the Working Group for Endorsement of IFRSs inpg. 2
Copyright© ASBJ/FASF, All Rights Reservedselecting possible items for consideration.
e.

The Board discussed how to respond to the comments received on the Exposure Draft Practical
Solution on Transactions of Delivering the Company’s Own Stock to Employees etc. throughTrusts (Exposure Draft of PITF No.39), after being presented with a summary of comments andstaff recommendations.
(3) 275th Meeting (held on October 31, 2013)
a. Responses to the IASB’s ED Insurance Contracts, and the FASB’s ED Insurance Contracts
b. Response to the IASB’s Discussion Paper A Review of the Conceptual Framework for Financial
Reportingc. Progress of Working Group for Endorsement of IFRSsa.

The Board discussed its draft comments on the IASB’s revised Exposure Draft Insurance
Contracts, and the FASB’s Proposed Accounting Standards Update Insurance Contracts (Topic834).

b.

The Board discussed its draft comments on the IASB’s Discussion Paper A Review of theConceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, specifically on Section 5 “Definition of equity
and distinction between liabilities and equity elements,” Section 6 “Measurement,” and Section 8“Presentation in the statement of comprehensive income.”c.

The Board reviewed the progress made by the Working Group for Endorsement of IFRSs inselecting possible items for consideration.
(4) 276th Meeting (held on November 19, 2013)
a. Reponses to the December 2013 Meeting of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF)
b. Report on international meetingsc. Updates on the IASB’s progress on impairment of financial assets projectd. Discussion on practical solutions for transactions that deliver the company’s own stock toemployees etc. through trustsa.

As one of agenda items for the December 2013 ASAF meeting, the Board discussed the ASBJ’s
agenda paper Profit or Loss/OCI and Measurement.

In addition, the Board discussed what viewsto express on an occasional paper on liabilities prepared by the Australian Accounting Standards
Board (AASB) and a bulletin prepared by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group(EFRAG), Accountability and the objective of financial reporting.
b. The Board was presented with an outline of the discussion during the China-Japan-Korea Meeting,as well as a brief introduction of a series of international meetings held in early November 2013 inTokyo.
c.

An outline of the IASB’s redeliberations since the receipt of comments on its Exposure Draft
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Financial Instruments: Expected Credit Losses, as well as the discussions by the FinancialInstruments Technical Committee of the ASBJ on the IASB’s developments, was presented.

The

Board then reviewed the developments.
d.

With the aim of finalizing the PITF, the Board reviewed changes made to the exposure draftreflecting the discussions undertaken by the Practical Solutions Standing Committee.

2. ASBJ’s Comment Submissions to the IASB and the FASB (October 1, 2013 –November 30, 2013)(1)

ASBJ submitted its Comments on the Exposure Draft Insurance Contracts to the IASB
(November 1, 2013)(2)

ASBJ submitted its Comments on the Proposed Accounting Standards Update – InsuranceContracts (Topic 834) to the FASB (November 1, 2013)

3. The 15th Regular Meeting with FASB held in Tokyo
Representatives of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Accounting Standards
Board of Japan (ASBJ) met on October 15 and 16, 2013, in Tokyo, Japan.

This meeting was thefifteenth in a series of biannual meetings between the FASB and the ASBJ.
The FASB and the ASBJ have been cooperating closely for the development of high-quality globalaccounting standards.

At this meeting, the FASB and the ASBJ both provided updates on theirrespective activities, and exchanged views on the opportunities for cooperation among the interestedorganizations, including national accounting standard-setters.
The FASB and the ASBJ discussed leases and insurance contracts, both of which the FASB and theIASB are currently deliberating jointly, as well as the conceptual framework and macro hedging
which the IASB is currently deliberating.

In addition, the FASB and the ASBJ discussed several

research topics.
The FASB and the ASBJ agreed that they would continue to exchange views on issues faced andpotential future concerns. The next meeting is planned in the first half of 2014 in Norwalk.

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4. The 13th China-Japan-Korea Meeting held in Tokyo
Accounting standards setters from China, Japan, and Korea met in Tokyo on 6 November 2013,
where the meeting was attended by more than thirty delegates.

The delegates included Ms. Yang

Min, Secretary-General of China Accounting Standards Committee (CASC), Mr. Ikuo Nishikawa,
Chairman of Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ), Mr. Suk-Sig (Steve) Lim, Chair ofKorea Accounting Standards Board (KASB), as well as observers including Messrs Takatsugu Ochiand Chung Woo Suh from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and representatives
from the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Committee for the Registry ofAuditors and Accountants of Macau.

In addition, several other IASB representatives participated insome part of the meeting.
At this meeting, each delegate provided an update on the developments in their respective
jurisdictions, and had in-depth discussions about topical agendas of the IASB.

The meeting agenda

included the Conceptual Framework, Leases, Financial Instruments, and Insurance Contracts.
Delegates at this meeting reached the following consensus:
1.

To have more frequent communication through face-to-face meetings and/or the use oftechnology, such that views from China, Japan, and Korea would become closer or common;
thereby these views would be better reflected in the International Financial Reporting Standards(IFRSs);2.

To play a leading role to promote enhanced cooperation among standards setters from theAsia-Oceania region, and to increase the prominence of the Asian-Oceanian Standard Setters
Group (AOSSG) in the global accounting standards setting community; and3.

To collaborate, to the extent possible, on research projects commissioned by nationalaccounting standards setters and the IFRS Foundation Asia-Oceania office.

The next meeting will be held in China in 2014.

5. The 5th AOSSG Annual Meeting held in Colombo
On 26-28 November 2013, the fifth annual meeting of the Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group(AOSSG) and a meeting of the Working Group was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The meeting wasattended by approximately 60 representatives from seventeen AOSSG member jurisdictions. The
ASBJ was represented by Mr. Atsushi Kogasaka (Vice Chairman), Mr. Tomo Sekiguchi (BoardMember) and Mr. Takao Kamiya (Director), as well as an ASBJ staff member.

The IASB wasrepresented by Mr. Hans Hoogervorst (Chairman), Mr. Takatsugu Ochi (Board Member), Mr. Zhang
Wei-Guo (Board Member), Mr. Chung Woo Suh (Board Member) and staff members, along with thepg. 5
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Office Director of the IFRS Foundation Asia-Oceania Office, Mr. Mitsuhiro Takemura.
The IASB provided an update on recent activities. The meeting included an exchange of views
among the AOSSG members, together with the IASB representatives, on the IASB’s review of theConceptual Framework.

The IASB’s major projects (revenue recognition, insurance contracts,financial instruments, and leases) as well as other projects relating to rate-regulated activities,
Islamic finance, agriculture and post-implementation review were also discussed.
In addition, recent developments including the progress over the past year on the IFRS support
program for developing countries (‘IFRS Centre of Excellence for a Developing Country’) wasreported.

6. Appointment of Members of the Standards Advisory Council
The Financial Accounting Standards Foundation (FASF) held the Board of Directors Meeting on
November 12, 2013.

The appointment of a member to the Standards Advisory Council (SAC) wasapproved, pursuant to Article 64, paragraph 1 of the FASF Constitution.
zMr. Ryota Yasui (Director Listing Department, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.)(Appointment effective November 12, 2013)
Dated November 11, 2013, Mr. Hiroyuki Matsuzaki (Standing Auditor, Tokyo Stock ExchangeRegulation) stepped down as an SAC member.

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“ASBJ Newsletter” (No. 36)
Issued on January 20, 2014
The views expressed in ASBJ Newsletter are not necessarily those of the ASBJ or the FASF. The
Authors and Publishers accept no responsibility for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on theviews expressed herein.
© Copyright, ASBJ/FASF All Rights Reserved
Website: https://www.asb.or.jp/asb/index_e.jsp
E-mail: planning@asb.or.jp
Accounting Standards Board of Japan / Financial Accounting Standards FoundationFukoku Seimei Building 20F, 2-2, Uchisaiwaicho 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan (Zip Code:100-0011)

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