4 November, 2011

Representatives of IASB and ASBJ hold a biannual meeting
Representatives of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the AccountingStandards Board of Japan (ASBJ) held their fourteenth biannual meeting in London on 31 October and1 November 2011. The meeting provided the first formal opportunity for the boards to meet sinceHans Hoogervorst and Ian Mackintosh were appointed in July 2011 as the IASB’s Chair and ViceChair respectively.
The boards discussed the joint work of the IASB and the US national standard-setter, the FinancialAccounting Standards Board (FASB), to improve International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)
and US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and to bring about their convergence.
The ASBJ supports the efforts of the IASB and the FASB towards developing high quality global
accounting standards, and is making progress with its own work for convergence of Japanese GAAP
and IFRSs by taking into consideration the progress of the IASB and FASB’s joint projects.
In addition to these discussions, the boards exchanged views on the following projects undertaken bythe IASB and the FASB:•financial instruments (including the credit impairment model for financial assets);•revenue recognition (including the recent deliberations that will lead to the re-exposure draft
expected to be issued during the fourth quarter of 2011);•leases (including the recent deliberations that will lead to the re-exposure draft expected to beissued in the first quarter of 2012); and•investment entities (regarding the exposure draft, Investment Entities, published by IASB in
August 2011).

The IASB and the ASBJ also discussed interpretation and practical issues relating to the voluntaryapplication of IFRSs in Japan. In addition, the ASBJ exchanged views with the IASB regarding theAgenda Consultation 2011 that the IASB is undertaking to gather views on the strategic direction andthe priority of agenda areas, among other things, over the next three years.

Representatives of the IASB and the ASBJ agreed that their ongoing discussions contribute to thedevelopment of high-quality accounting standards and reaffirmed that it is essential for them tomaintain their close co-ordination, and for the ASBJ to continue to participate actively in the IASB’s
standard-setting process.
Hans Hoogervorst, Chair of the IASB, said, “This was a very successful and productive
meeting. Of particular importance was the ASBJ’s contribution to our ongoing agenda
consultation. Japan is a major economy and has an important role to play in international
standard-setting.”
Ikuo Nishikawa, Chair of the ASBJ, stated, “We are pleased to continue the active discussions
towards the development of high-quality global accounting standards with the IASB under
new leadership of Hans Hoogervorst and Ian Mackintosh, Chair and Vice-Chair respectively.
We will continue to contribute to the IASB’s standard-setting activities by providing
constructive opinion considering various views of Japanese constituents.”
The next joint meeting is planned for early in the second quarter of 2012 in Tokyo, Japan.

EndAbout the International Accounting Standards Board
The IASB was established in 2001 and is the standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation, anindependent, private sector, not-for-profit organisation. The IASB is committed to developing, in thepublic interest, a single set of high quality global accounting standards that provide transparent andcomparable information in general purpose financial statements. In pursuit of this objective the IASB
conducts extensive public consultations and seeks the co-operation of international and national bodies
around the world. The IASB has 15 full-time members drawn from 11 countries and a variety ofprofessional backgrounds. By 2012 the Board will be expanded to 16 members. Board members areappointed by and accountable to the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, who are required to select thebest available combination of technical expertise and diversity of international business and market
experience. In their work the Trustees are accountable to a Monitoring Board of public authorities.

About the Accounting Standards Board of Japan
The Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) was established in July 2001 as a private-sectororganization. Accounting standards developed by the ASBJ are to be authorized by the Financial
Services Agency as part of generally accepted accounting principles. The ASBJ develops accounting
standards and implementation guidance that appropriately reflect the environment in which businessenterprises operate. The ASBJ also communicates with corresponding organizations abroad andcontributes to the development of high quality global accounting standards. For more information
about the ASBJ, visit its website at https://www.asb.or.jp/asb/top_e.do.