This summary of Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) decisions has been prepared for information purposes only. Decisions reported are tentative and reflect only the current status of discussion on projects, which may change after further deliberations by the Board. Decisions to publish Handbook material are final only after a formal ballot process.
The AcSB will respond to change and reprioritize when necessary, ensuring we can address implementation challenges and provide the information users may need in these unique circumstances.
The AcSB values input and feedback from interested and affected parties and can be reached anytime through our online form.
Standards for Private Enterprises
Detailed Review of Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises
The AcSB began discussing feedback on its “Consultation Paper – Detailed Review of Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (ASPE),” which closed for comment on January 31, 2026. Through its discussions, the Board noted that respondents supported the project’s objective to simplify the application of ASPE while maintaining its usefulness for entities of all sizes and complexities.
The AcSB also discussed projects that respondents identified as higher priority and for which there was broad support for potential proposals discussed in the Consultation Paper. The Board used this feedback to determine which topics to address first as part of its 2026-2027 Annual Plan. In response to the feedback, the Board tentatively decided to:
- begin a research project on challenges interested and affected parties encounter with related party transactions; and
- begin a project to develop guidance that would address challenges related to impairment of long-lived assets.
Work on additional topics will continue beyond 2026-2027. The AcSB will continue discussing feedback on its Consultation Paper at its July 2026 meeting and plans to issue a Feedback Statement in the first half of 2027.
Guidance Framework – Assessing Control Under Section 1591 Subsidiaries
The AcSB received a question about how to apply the definition of control under Part II of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting Standards for Private Enterprise.
In the submitted scenario, an operating company issued nonparticipating voting shares to a family trust (Trust A) and participating nonvoting shares to a second family trust (Trust B). No other voting shares exist. Both trusts have the same four adult siblings as trustees, and decisions require agreement of at least two siblings, so no individual has control. The beneficiaries of Trust B include the four siblings and their children, and the trustees have discretion over distributions. The broader family structure includes multiple holding and operating companies and neither Trust A nor Trust B prepare consolidated financial statements.
The question was “which family trust controls the operating company?” This determination is relevant to determining whether Trust A or Trust B are subject to Pillar Two’s Global Minimum Tax rules.
The AcSB conducted targeted outreach and concluded that this issue does not meet the criteria in the Guidance Framework. As a result, no further work is required. The issue was not considered prevalent, and the accounting outcome is not expected to affect user decision making, particularly because the trusts in this scenario are unlikely to prepare financial statements.
Guidance Framework – Retractable of Mandatorily Redeemable Shares Issues in a Tax Planning Arrangement
The AcSB discussed and considered input from its Private Enterprise Advisory Committee and Medium and Small Practitioners Advisory Committee on an application question raised regarding the accounting for retractable or mandatorily redeemable shares issued in a tax planning arrangement (ROMRS) under Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises in Part II of the Handbook.
In the scenario discussed, the operating company, Alpha Co., issued ROMRS. Mr. X, who is the sole shareholder, owns 100 per cent of Alpha Co.’s shares, including ROMRS. Alpha Co. accounts for the ROMRS as equity because the criteria in paragraph 23 in Section 3856, Financial Instruments were met. In the scenario, Mr. X sells 100 per cent of their shares, including the ROMRS, to an unrelated party, Mr. Y. The question considered was whether Alpha Co. should continue to classify the ROMRS as equity following the sale, or whether the change in control of the enterprise requires reassessing and reclassifying the ROMRS as a financial liability.
The AcSB reaffirmed that ROMRS meet the definition of a financial liabilities and noted that paragraph 23 in Section 3856 Financial Instruments provides an exception to liability classification. The Board considered the committees’ feedback that, in practice, there is no diversity in applying the guidance in paragraph 23 in Section 3856 Financial Instruments in these scenarios. The committees also noted that the requirements clearly indicate that the ROMRS must be reassessed and reclassified as a financial liability following their sale to Mr. Y.
Based on the feedback from the committees, the AcSB assessed whether the criteria in its Guidance Framework were met to determine if additional guidance or standard setting is needed to address the issue. The Board concluded that the issue does not meet the criteria in the Guidance Framework.
Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations
Reporting Controlled and Related Entities
The AcSB reviewed an initial draft of its consultation paper for the Improvements to Section 4450 Reporting Controlled and Related Entities by Not-for-Profit Organizations project. The consultation paper will discuss a new approach to accounting for:
- control relationships with not-for-profit organizations;
- significant influence relationships with not-for-profit organizations; and,
- relationships between a not-for-profit organization and profit-oriented enterprises.
The consultation paper will also discuss possible disclosure improvements regarding relationships with controlled and related entities.
The AcSB will review a revised draft of its consultation paper at its May 2026 meeting. The consultation paper is expected to be released in the second half of 2026.
Contributions
The AcSB continued discussions on the proposals to be included in an exposure draft for the Contributions – Revenue Recognition and Related Matters project related to:
- effective date;
- transition guidance and optional modified retrospective transition relief; and
- illustrative examples.
The AcSB tentatively decided on an effective date of January 1, 2029, with earlier application permitted, subject to change pending future decisions on the project. The Board also tentatively decided to provide a transition provision allowing an organization to change the accounting policy for contribution revenue recognition upon adoption of the new proposed standard, without meeting the criterion in paragraph 1506.06(b) of Section 1506, Change in Accounting Policy.
The AcSB also reviewed parts of an initial draft of the proposed new standard for recognition of contributions. The exposure draft is expected to be released in the second half of 2026.
Standards for Private Enterprises, Not-for-Profit Organizations, and Pension Plans
2026-2027 Package of Minor Amendments
In March 2026, the AcSB revised its Due Process Manual to include revisions to a package of minor amendments which is a category of standard-setting projects formerly referred to as Annual Improvements.
The AcSB observed that such improvements have not always been done on an annual cycle and therefore this revised name better reflects the nature of the project. The Manual also includes revisions to the definition, clarifying that such amendments may affect practice.
At this meeting, the AcSB approved a project proposal to issue a package of minor amendments for the fiscal year 2026-2027. The Board discussed which issues to include and tentatively decided on the following topics:
- Debt modifications – Considers an amendment that would clarify the fees an entity includes when assessing whether the terms of a new or modified financial liability are substantially different from the terms of the original financial liability (i.e., the “10 percent” test) in Section 3856, Financial Instruments in Part II of the Handbook.
- Definition of accounting estimates - Considers an amendment that would provide clarity to preparers in distinguishing between changes in accounting policies and accounting estimates in Section 1506, Accounting Changes in Part II of the Handbook.
- Accounting policy disclosure requirements – Considers an amendment that would require entities to disclose its material accounting policy information instead of its significant accounting policies in Section 1505, Disclosure of Accounting Policies in Part II of the Handbook and Section 4600, Pension Plans in Part IV of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting Standards for Pension Plans.
- Disclosure of non-current liabilities with covenants - Considers an amendment that would require disclosure of covenants to be complied with after year-end (e.g., a covenant based on the entity’s financial position six months after the end of the reporting period), in Section 3856.
- Consolidation of subsidiaries with different year-ends – Considers an amendment to clarify the requirements in Section 1601, Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II of the Handbook when a parent consolidates subsidiaries with fiscal periods that are non‑coterminous.
The AcSB also discussed two additional issues and determined that the criteria for the package in the Due Process Manual were not met:
- Derecognition of a financial liability – Considers an amendment to Section 3856 that would provide an option for an enterprise to either use the trade date or the settlement date as the date a financial liability is extinguished. The AcSB decided to address this through a narrow-scope amendment project in the 2026-2027 Annual Plan and will discuss the timing and scope of this project at a future meeting.
- Definition of a business – Considers an amendment in Section 1582, Business Combinations in Part II of the Handbook to help enterprises evaluate whether transactions are asset acquisitions or business combinations. The AcSB will consider whether a separate project is warranted in the context of its other Part II priorities as part of future annual plan discussions.
The AcSB will seek input on draft proposals from its advisory committees in Q2 2026 and will continue discussing the Package of Minor Amendments project at its meeting in July 2026. The Board expects to issue an exposure draft in H2 2026.
Standards for Pension Plans
Guidance Framework: Part IV of the Handbook and IFRS 18
Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements
The AcSB discussed and considered input from its Pension Plan Advisory Committee on a question regarding whether the new standard, IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, will result in a requirement for pension plans that apply Part IV of the CPA Canada Handbook, to disclose management-defined performance measures.
Section 4600 Pension Plans requires a pension plan to follow the general financial statement presentation requirements with respect to fair presentation, comparative information, and materiality in Part I of the CPA Canada Handbook – IFRS Accounting Standards or Part II of the Handbook. Applying Part I or II of the Handbook in this case would be consistent with the choice the pension plan has made for accounting policies that do not relate to its investment portfolio or pension obligations.
Based on the committee’s feedback, diversity in practice is not expected to arise with respect to disclosing management-defined performance measures at this time. Management-defined performance measures as currently defined by IFRS Accounting Standards in Part I of the Handbook are not prevalent for pension plans. Therefore, the AcSB concluded that the question did not meet its Guidance Framework criteria such that no further guidance is needed at this time to address the question raised.
Governance
AcSB’s Advisory Committees’ and Groups’ Terms of Reference and Statements of Operating Procedures
The AcSB commenced the review of its advisory committees’ and groups’ Terms of Reference and Statements of Operating Procedures, which it performs once every three years or on an as-needed basis. The Board directed staff to explore alternative ways to better engage the academic community with its Academic Advisory Committee. The Board also decided to dissolve its Agriculture Advisory Group after completing the development of the non-authoritative resource discussed at its February 18, 2026 meeting.
The AcSB will continue discussions on the advisory committees’ and groups’ Terms of Reference and Statements of Operating Procedures at a future meeting.
AcSB’s Annual Plan
The AcSB continued discussing its 2026-2027 Annual Plan for the operating year beginning April 1, 2026, and considered feedback from the Reporting and Assurance Standards Oversight Council. The Board reaffirmed its focus to advance work on its current domestic projects. In addition, the Board identified new domestic priorities for the coming year and plans to initiate:
The AcSB also decided that the plan should be flexible to respond to the evolving needs of interested and affected parties, emerging financial reporting matters and potential new priorities of the International Accounting Standards Board. The Board approved its 2026-2027 Annual Plan and plans to issue it by March 31, 2026.
Due Process
AcSB’s Advisory Committees and Working Groups
Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee
The AcSB received an update on the February 19, 2026, Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee meeting. At this meeting, the Committee discussed the proposed presentation and disclosure requirements, as well as proposed illustrative examples and solutions regarding the Contributions project. In addition, the Committee discussed a Guidance Framework topic regarding the recognition, presentation and disclosure of externally-managed endowments and matching arrangements (where the funds must be maintained in perpetuity).
User Advisory Committee
The AcSB received an update on the February 25, 2026, User Advisory Committee meeting. At this meeting, the Committee provided input on potential new disclosure requirements in relation to the IASB’s Statement of Cash Flows and Related Matters project, as well as the proposed amendments to the Fair Value Option for Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures in relation to the IASB’s Equity Method project. The Committee discussed IFRS 3 Business Combinations and whether the standard is meeting its objective of providing relevant, reliable, and comparable information about business combinations. In addition, the Committee offered feedback on the National Instrument 52-112, Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Disclosure.
Insurance Transition Resource Group
The AcSB received an update on the March 9, 2026, Insurance Transition Resource Group meeting. At this meeting, the Group discussed their experience using the hedge accounting requirements under IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. The Group provided input on the IASB's Exposure Draft, “Amendments to the Fair Value Option for Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures” (proposed amendments to IAS 28). In addition, the Group provided feedback on issues they are facing with IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in the Financial Statements.