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Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises

2026-2027 Package of Minor Amendments

Summary

In March 2026, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) revised its Due Process Manual to modify the approach to annual improvements. The Board will shift from an annual cycle of improvements to a package of minor amendments, without specifying frequency of issue.

The package will include unrelated improvements in one document. These amendments are limited to changes that either clarify the wording in a standard or correct relatively minor unintended consequences, oversights, or conflicts between existing requirements of standards. The amendments do not propose a new principle or a change to an existing principle, but they may change practice.

At its meeting in March 2026, the AcSB approved a project proposal to develop an exposure draft for a package of minor amendments for the fiscal year 2026-2027.

Topics in the 2026-2027 package will stem from multiple sources, including a review of amendments to frameworks in other jurisdictions, the AcSB’s Guidance Framework, and out-of-scope issues raised in feedback from other Exposure Drafts.

Amendments to Part II of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting Standards for Private Enterprise may be relevant to not-for-profit organizations that apply Part III of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations, as well as pension plans that apply Part IV of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting Standards for Pension Plans.

Staff Contact(s)

Angela Alfieri, CPA Auditor Principal, Accounting Standards Board

Project Status

  • Information gathering

    Completed prior to February 2026.

  • Approving project

    The AcSB approved a project to develop an exposure draft in March 2026.

  • Engaging communities
  • Deliberating feedback
  • Final pronouncement

News


May 26, 2026

Resource, Webinar

Webinar – Domestic Accounting Standards Update (Spring 2026)

Are you a Canadian private enterprise, not-for-profit organization, pension plan, an advisor to one, or a user of their financial statements? Join this webinar to learn about current accounting standards projects and recent amendments in Parts II, III, and IV of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting. Register now for our English webinar on May 26, 2026, or our French webinar on June 4, 2026.

Meeting & event summaries


August 5, 2026

AcSB Decision Summary – July 15, 2026

The AcSB discussed feedback from its Private Enterprise Advisory Committee, Medium and Small Practitioners Advisory Committee, and Canadian Private Enterprise User Advisory Committee on draft proposals to be included in the 2026-2027 Package of Minor Amendments. The Board also reviewed an initial draft of the exposure draft.

The AcSB decided to retain the following topics in the Package of Minor Amendments exposure draft:

  • Accounting policy disclosure requirements – The Board supported retaining the proposed amendment in Section 1505, Disclosure of Accounting Policies, to require entities to disclose “material” accounting policy information rather than ‘significant’ accounting policies.
  • Definition of accounting estimates – The AcSB supported retaining the proposed amendment to Section 1506, Accounting Changes, to clarify the definition of accounting estimates and to help distinguish changes in accounting estimates from changes in accounting policies and error corrections.
  • Consolidation of subsidiaries with different year-ends – The AcSB supported retaining the proposed amendment to clarify the requirements in Section 1601, Consolidated Financial Statements, for subsidiaries with non-coterminous year-ends.
  • Debt modifications – The AcSB supported retaining the proposed amendment to clarify that, when applying the “10 per cent” test in Section 3856, Financial Instruments, only fees exchanged between the borrower and lender are included in determining whether the terms of a new or modified financial liability are substantially different from the original financial liability.

The AcSB decided to remove the proposed amendment on ‘disclosure of non-current liabilities with covenants’ from the Package of Minor Amendments. Based on Advisory Committee feedback, the Board concluded that the topic was beyond the scope of a minor amendment. However, Board members noted that the topic remains important, particularly given user feedback about the need for better information about financial covenants. The Board directed staff to retain the topic for further research and consider beginning work, when capacity permits.

The AcSB will review a pre-ballot draft of the Package of Minor Amendments exposure draft and the related communications plan at its September 2026 meeting. The Board expects to issue an exposure draft in November 2026, with comments due in January 2027.

April 15, 2026

AcSB Decision Summary – March 11-12, 2026

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.

Disclaimer

This project summary has been prepared for information purposes only. Decisions reported are tentative and reflect only the current status of discussions on this project, which may change after further Board deliberations. Decisions to publish Handbook material are final only after a formal voting process.