Hey everyone,
April was relatively quiet on the IFRS front, but financial headlines were dominated by the ongoing tariff drama. The impact of tariffs on financial reporting leads this edition of Reporting Period, though it’s certainly not the only topic we cover.
Let’s dive in.
Technical Publications
Impact of new import tariffs
The new import tariffs introduced by Donald Trump have been widely reported in recent weeks. While an all-out global trade war appears to be on hold for now, much uncertainty remains about the scope, duration, and potential exemptions. Still, it’s worth considering the accounting implications early.
Several accounting firms have issued focused analyses on this topic:
- The effects of volatile 2025 tariffs by BDO – the most comprehensive of the lot.
- Import tariffs – What’s the impact on your financial reporting? by KPMG – their reference card is particularly handy.
- Financial reporting amid increasing tariffs and market volatility by EY.
- Tariffs: the price tag of global trade on financial reporting by PwC.
Second reporting cycle under IFRS 17
For many insurers, the 2024 reporting cycle marked their second year of financial statements under IFRS 17. KPMG has published updated observations on accounting policies, key judgements, and disclosures based on the 2024 financials of 55 insurers. The report notes greater clarity and more company-specific detail in disclosures. Some insurers are also refining their IFRS 17 policies and introducing new KPIs.
Work in Progress at the IASB
No major updates from the IASB this month – so keep reading!
Miscellany
Excluding sales taxes from revenue
We’re all accustomed to reporting revenue net of VAT and sales taxes, often without much thought. Peter Clark challenges that assumption in his latest post on the Accounting Miscellany blog, asking whether that’s really the best approach.
ESMA’s report on 2024 enforcement activities
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its report on 2024 enforcement and regulatory activities in corporate reporting. It’s a lengthy read, but still worth a look if you’re involved in EU financial reporting. I’d recommend focusing on the executive summary and the section on enforcement of financial reporting (pages 7-19).
Internet Archive
You may have noticed that more technical publications are now published as webpages rather than downloadable PDFs. While I appreciate the cleaner design and responsive layout, the downside is that these pages sometimes disappear. To address this, I’ll be submitting all publications shared in Reporting Period to the Internet Archive. So if a link I’ve shared stops working, you should still be able to find the publication at archive.org.
That’s all for this edition of Reporting Period. Your feedback is always welcome – just reply to this email with any thoughts or suggestions. I promise I’m not a robot and read every email myself! 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Best regards,
Marek