Our Financial Reporting Expert Group contributed to our response to the IASB's consultation on improvements to IFRS 8 Operating Segments.
We agreed with the Board's proposed amendments regarding what constitutes a chief operating decision maker. We commented that they would be welcomed by preparers of financial statements.
We also welcomed the proposed amendment to paragraph 20A of IFRS 8 as it will give preparers more flexibility to provide meaningful information in respect of their segmental data reported in the financial statements.
However, with respect to the proposal to require the disclosure of an explanation of why segments identified in the financial statements differ from segments identified in other parts of the entity’s annual reporting package in paragraph 22(d), we noted our concern that the Board's definition of the term “annual reporting package” had been drafted too loosely. We commented that there was a risk that auditors will delay signing off until all information is ready, which would delay the release of price sensitive information to the market. We suggested that other regulators would be better placed to respond to any problems in the market place and not the IASB.
