UPDATE ON THE WORK OF THE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS PROJECT GROUP
DISCUSSION PAPER ISSUED FOR COMMENT

At the September 2007 meeting of the Accounting Standards Board, the Board approved for exposure a Discussion Paper on Financial Instruments. The comment period closes on the 28th of February 2008. Both the Discussion Paper and Executive Summary are available on the Board’s website.

Discussion Paper on the Financial Instruments
Due to the fact that monetary assets and liabilities arise in the public sector by various means e.g. through contract or legislation, the generally accepted definitions and scope of financial instruments need to be reconsidered. As a result, the Discussion Paper analyses to what extent the principles in International Accounting Standards (IAS) 32 and 39, as well as International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 7 should be amended and adapted for public sector specific transactions.

EXPOSURE DRAFT ISSUED FOR COMMENT

At the November 2008 Board meeting of the Accounting Standards Board, the Board approved for exposure an exposure draft of a Proposed Standard of GRAP on Financial Instruments. The comment period closes on the 31st of March 2009. The following documents are available from the ASB’s website:

• The proposed Standard of GRAP on Financial Instruments (ED52).

• An executive summary of the proposed Standard of GRAP on Financial Instruments (ED53).

• A glossary of commonly used terms in the proposed Standard of GRAP on Financial Instruments.

• A comparison of the proposed Standard of GRAP on Financial Instruments (ED 52) with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Exposure Draft of a proposed Standard of GRAP on Financial Instruments (ED52)
ED 52 is drawn primarily from the relevant IFRSs, i.e. IAS 32 on Financial Instruments: Presentation, IAS 39 on Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and IFRS 7 on Financial Instruments: Disclosures. In developing a proposed Standard of GRAP on Financial Instruments, the Board aimed to simplify the requirements of the relevant IFRSs wherever appropriate. For example, the three IFRSs have been combined into one Standard, streamlined the number of categories available for the measurement of financial assets, and simplified the treatment of financial guarantees and loan commitments.