Skip to main content

Accounting Standards for Pension Plans

Consultation Paper I – Exploring Scalability in Canada

Summary

With this Consultation Paper, our objective is to obtain broad input from private enterprise, not-for-profit organization (NFPO), and pension plan stakeholders – including financial statement preparers, users, and practitioners – on current key issues and potential solutions related to scaling the standards.

We recognize that exploring scalability solutions with Canadian stakeholders will take time. Which is why this Paper represents only the first phase of consultation activities for our Scaling the Standards project. It is important for us to first hear from a range of Canadian stakeholders on the issues that matter most. We want your thoughts on potential solutions that would best address your unique concerns when applying accounting standards. Your feedback will help us decide on the project’s future direction.

Staff Contact(s)

Katharine Christopoulos, CPA, CA Director, Accounting Standards Board

Thank you for your interest in the AcSB Consultation Paper I – Exploring Scalability in Canada.

Read the Consultation Paper and stay up to date with this project.

Background

In Canada, accounting standards for all entities outside the public sector are issued by the Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB). More than 10 years ago, the AcSB established four parts of the CPA Canada Handbook – Accounting (the Handbook).

Since the establishment of the Parts of the Handbook, Canada’s financial reporting landscape has evolved considerably. This includes extensive change in IFRS Accounting Standards since their initial adoption in Canada (which, for most publicly accountable enterprises, occurred for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2011). The reporting needs of private enterprises, NFPOs, and pension plans have also changed. The AcSB is aware that there is significant diversity in each of these categories in terms of entities’ size and complexity. Accordingly, the information needs of financial statement users may vary. Investors and other stakeholders are also demanding more transparency and decision-useful information, beyond what is currently available in the traditional financial statements.

The AcSB’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan identified three core strategies, all aimed at enhancing the relevance of financial information provided to Canadian stakeholders. As part of its core strategy of delivering relevant and high-quality accounting standards, the AcSB committed to exploring scaling the standards for non-listed entities to better meet stakeholders’ different reporting needs.