Chair Message
As we reflect on the past year, it has become apparent that the only constant is change. We have seen it all around us: changes in the reporting landscape, in the needs of our stakeholders, and in how we operate.
With change comes the need to explore new approaches. We recognize that in Canada, the landscape of reporting entities is diverse. As part of our core strategy to deliver relevant and high-quality accounting standards in our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, we are committed to exploring scaling the standards for non-listed entities to better meet stakeholders’ different reporting needs. We look forward to exciting discussions with our stakeholders on the potential approaches identified in our recently published Consultation Paper.
Amidst change, we continued to reassess our priorities to ensure they remain relevant to our stakeholders. In doing so, we kept our focus on moving important projects and discussions forward. We stayed active in influencing international discussions on topics of importance to Canadians, including our research on crypto assets. Domestically, we issued final pronouncements for our projects on Cloud Computing Arrangements and Pension Plans. We also made great progress on our Contributions project and are keen to hear our stakeholders’ views on the Exposure Draft proposals. We recognize the proposals would result in a significant change for the not-for-profit sector, but we believe that together with input from the sector, we can improve financial reporting by not-for-profit organizations.
The demand for information about a company’s sustainability-related risks and opportunities continues to grow. As a standard setter, we recognize the importance of connectivity between financial and sustainability standards to ensure information reported is consistent. We are committed to seeking Canadians’ views and ensuring their perspectives are considered in the standard-setting process to keep this connectivity theme at the forefront during this period of change.
Fiscal 2022-2023 was also a year of change for us from an operational standpoint. We resumed some in-person meetings to further strengthen connections with our stakeholders and national standard-setting peers, while still leveraging the benefits of operating virtually when it made sense to do so. Our Board also experienced an early leadership change as my predecessor, Linda Mezon-Hutter, is now currently serving as the Vice-Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board – a tremendous achievement for Canada.
I would like to thank Linda for her leadership and commitment to establishing high-quality standards in Canada and globally – and personally for her guidance as I take on the role of
AcSB Chair. I would also like to express my gratitude to my fellow Board members and AcSB staff for their support during this transition phase. Looking ahead, I am confident that we can carry out our vision in the coming years to enhance the relevance of financial information and support the improvement of non-financial information reported to stakeholders.
Armand Capisciolto, FCPA, FCA, CPA(MI)
Chair, AcSB
Advancing through Change
Progressing on our commitment
In our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, we committed to exploring scaling the existing accounting frameworks to better meet the needs of non-listed Canadian entities and their financial statement users. Our research this year has helped us better understand the need for a scaled approach, while balancing the fact that additional tiers may be cumbersome for preparers and others. In our “Consultation Paper I – Exploring Scalability in Canada,” we identified scalability solutions and are seeking stakeholders’ feedback on which ones they would support to further advance our work in this area. As we move into the next year, we will be considering the feedback and evaluating the Preface of our Handbook, a project that is closely linked with our Scaling the Standards project.
Advancing key domestic projects
We achieved significant milestones this year with many of our domestic projects. Notably, we are now consulting stakeholders on our high priority Contributions project. We completed several other projects, including Cloud Computing Arrangements and Pension Plans, and issued final pronouncements at the end of 2022. We also started work in new areas, including exploring the accounting for insurance contracts with cash surrender value and the reporting of controlled and related entities by NFPOs. The valuable input provided by the Board’s advisory committees was instrumental in moving our domestic projects forward.
Making global contributions
We continue to focus on ensuring that Canadian views on issues important to our stakeholders are heard and considered at the international level. This year, we exercised our international influence by actively participating in the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) standard-setting process and exchanging views on topics of mutual interest with other national standard setters, including those in Australia, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The International Sustainability Standards Board will soon be delivering a global baseline of sustainability disclosure standards for capital markets. We are taking a collaborative approach with other standard setters, including the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board, to ensure that connectivity between sustainability and financial reporting is considered in lockstep as new standards are issued.