Hans Hoogervorst, Chair of the IASB, has spoken of issues related to the IASB’s disclosure initiative, particularly corporate reporting of non-GAAP measures and the need for professional judgement when making disclosure decisions.

Instructions

Access one of Mr. Hoogervorst’s speeches dealing with non-GAAP measures and IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements on the IASB website (www.ifrs.org).

a. What is meant by “non-GAAP measures”? Explain Mr. Hoogervorst’s position on such measures and why they are a concern to the IASB.

b. What disclosure issues does Mr. Hoogervorst identify that require professional judgement? What does he mean by “boilerplate” disclosures? What is meant by professional judgement?

c. Review the requirements of IAS 1 and identify three requirements where preparers of the financial statements would need to exercise professional judgement.