FEE opens discussion on 'The Future of Audit and Assurance'

As part of FEE's commitment to promoting a public debate on the areas of audit and assurance, the paper lays out initial observations which could result in potential longer-term developments in audit, assurance and other services. We invite you to consult, share and respond to this discussion paper by 30 June 2014. more...

EU Audit Reform: Upcoming finalisation and implementation phases

FEE submitted a letter to the European Commission regarding the finalisation and implementation phases of the new Audit Reform Directive and Regulation, offering its help to the European Commission with this important task. more... In the meantime, FEE is working on a number of projects linked to this new legislation to inform its members and the public at large further.

EFRAG reform continues

The EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier has agreed with Philippe Maystadt, former President of the European Investment Bank, that his mission as Special Adviser should be continued in order to supervise appropriate follow-up of the implementation of reforms of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). more...

Agreement in trilogue on a European framework on non-financial reporting

The European Commission, European Parliament and EU Member States reached an agreement on the proposal for a directive on the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large companies. more...

Public interest entities with more than 500 employees will be required to include a non-financial statement in their management reports, disclosing information on their environmental and social impacts, including respect for human rights and efforts to combat corruption and bribery. The main point for negotiation over the past weeks had been the scope of the legislation. In the end, the legislation will cover about 6.000 large companies, instead of the 18.000 originally envisaged. It is expected that the European Parliament will vote this legislation in plenary in April, while the Council will formally adopt it subsequently.

Long-term financing of the European economy

The European Parliament adopted a resolution to provide more financing for growth in Europe. This own-initiative report of the Parliament follows up on the European Commission’s Green Paper on the long-term financing of the European economy of March 2013, to which FEE had contributed. more... It precedes supposed action by the Commission, which is said to present a communication on long-term financing of the European economy in March 2014. Key points among these proposals would be mobilising private sources of long-term financing (banks, institutional investors), developing capital markets and especially securities markets, and improving SMEs' access to financing. more...

ECB announces progress in its on-going comprehensive assessment

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced its progress in the preparation for, and the implementation of, the comprehensive assessment, which is an important element of on-going preparations prior to the ECB assuming its new supervisory tasks in November. more...

FEE has already raised awareness about the possible consequences for the accountancy profession, continues to closely monitor the developments and will react where necessary. more...

Global tax transparency standard issued

The G20 Finance Ministers' agreed on a new global standard aimed at reinforcing the fight against tax evasion and improve tax transparency worldwide. The new standard developed by the OECD with input from the EU calls on jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and exchange that information automatically with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. It sets out the financial account information to be exchanged, the financial institutions that need to report, the different types of accounts and taxpayers covered, as well as common due diligence procedures to be followed by financial institutions. more...

Revision of Parent-Subsidiary Directive on the way

The proposed revised Parent-Subsidiary Directive continues its way in the legislative process. Further to the publication of the draft report of the European Parliament’s leading committee, Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON),  the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) has now presented its opinion. The vote in ECON is scheduled on 18 March 2014. The indicative plenary sitting date in the European Parliament is 16 April 2014. FEE is analysing the proposal, the report and the opinion and will comment.

Proposal for a uniform EU VAT return - the next stage

The European Commission’s proposal for a standard VAT return is in the legislative process. The standard VAT return would replace national VAT returns, requiring businesses to provide the same basic information with the same deadlines regardless of their location within the European Union. FEE has provided constructive comments. View The European Parliament has voted in favour of the proposal, suggesting some minor amendments. Next step in the legislative process is a decision in the European Council.

Fighting VAT fraud

The European Commission has adopted two reports which shed more light on problems linked to fighting VAT fraud within the EU, and which identify possible remedies. The first report looks at VAT collection and control procedures across the EU Member States. more... Recommendations are addressed to individual Member States on where they could make improvements.The second report looks at how effectively administrative cooperation and other available tools are being used in order to combat VAT Fraud in the EU. more...

Practical guidelines on 2015 rules for VAT in telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services

The practical guidelines published by the European Commission in English in late 2013 to explain the EU “One Stop Shop” legislation regarding VAT in telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services are now available in 27 languages. more...

EU-US trade and investment negotiations in progress

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht met United States Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman in Washington D.C. to review progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations that were launched in July 2013. Following two days of meetings, the EU Trade Commissioner said that the negotiations had made good progress and now needed to step up a gear. more...

ESMA consults on Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) decided to review the Recommendation on Alternative Performance Measures (APMs: financial data published by issuers in press releases, prospectuses or other documents) that has now been in force for over 8 years. more... Deadline for comments: 14 May 2014

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IAASB takes a holistic approach in its new Framework for Audit Quality

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released its new publication, 'A Framework for Audit Quality: Key Elements that Create an Environment for Audit Quality'. Through this Framework, the IAASB aims to raise awareness of the key elements of audit quality, encourage key stakeholders to challenge themselves to do more to increase audit quality in their particular environments, and facilitate greater dialogue between key stakeholders on the topic. more...

IAESB publishes revised information paper on Development and Management of Written Examinations

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) has released an International Education Information Paper to help professional organisations conduct written examinations of aspiring accountants seeking qualification. more...

IASB initiates a public consultation on Post-implementation Review for IFRS 3 - Business Combinations

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has initiated a Post implementation Review (PiR) of 'IFRS 3 - Business Combinations'. The IASB seeks feedback on the implementation of the standard to learn about whether it is working as intended. Deadline: 30 May 2014. more...

IPSASB policy paper on Process for Considering Government Finance Statistics Reporting Guidelines during Development of IPSASs

The aim of this document is to set out the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board’s (IPSASB’s) process for considering Government Finance Statistics (GFS) reporting guidelines during the development of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs). more...

IFAC SMP Quick Poll: 2013 Year-End Round-Up

The report summarises the results from the latest IFAC SMP Quick Poll, conducted between 15 November and 31 December 2013. Intended to take a snapshot of key issues facing this sector, the poll provides practitioners operating in small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs) around the world the opportunity to share their insights on key trends and developments facing them and their small business clients. more...

IFAC consults on Proposed Guidance on Supplementary Financial Measures

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) issued the exposure draft International Good Practice Guidance - Developing and Reporting Supplementary Financial Measures, for public comment by 26 May 2014. The guidance seeks to establish a benchmark for the use of supplementary financial measures, in order to improve understanding of an organisation’s performance among management, investors, and other stakeholders. more...

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The FEE Board met on 18 February 2014. Board members received an interim feedback on the status of the stakeholder consultation that is currently being undertaken by FEE within the frame of a strategic review. In addition, Board members discussed FEE’s involvement in the implementation of the new Audit Reform Directive and Regulation. They also exchanged information and discussed the strategy regarding corporate reporting and achieved a consensus upon the approach to public sector accounting standards. A series of comment letters have been approved which are featured under FEE Publications.

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FEE President André Kilesse represented FEE at the IFAC Board meeting on 27 - 28 February in New York.

FEE President André Kilesse and FEE CEO Olivier Boutellis-Taft met with the leadership of the Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants of Turkey (TÜRMOB) on 20 February 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey.

FEE CEO Olivier Boutellis-Taft participated in the meeting of the European Commission’s Tax Good Governance Platform as well as the EFRAG Members Organisations meeting on the implementation of the Maystadt recommendations. Furthermore, he moderated a debate on Fighting Money Laundering around the question “Is the European Commission's proposal the right way forward?” organised by QED. He also attended the IFAC Chief Executives’ Strategy Forum and the IFAC Council meeting on 24 - 25 February in New York.

The following FEE Working Parties held meetings or conference calls in February to proceed with their projects, their major agenda items debated are highlighted below:

Task Force on the EFRAG Review: Way forward of the Maystadt recommendations

Accounting: IASB Exposure Draft - IFRS for SMEs

Auditing: Audit policy; IAASB matters; Role of the auditor in Certification of Financial Statements and Methodology in Horizon 2020 EC grants; IAESB International Education Standards (IES), in particular the proposed revised standard on Professional Competence of the Audit Engagement Partner (IES 8)

Professional Ethics and Competences: Audit policy; IESBA matters; IAESB International Education Standards (IES), in particular the proposed revised standard on Professional Competence of the Audit Engagement Partner (IES 8)

Public Sector: European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS); Audit and Assurance in the Public Sector

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