FRC's discussion paper to enhance disclosure in financial reporting

15 October 2012

The FRC published a discussion paper, 'Thinking about financial reporting disclosures in a broader context'. The paper aims to improve the quality of financial reporting disclosures. The consultation period closes on 31 January, 2013.

The paper sets out a roadmap for a disclosure framework for financial reporting aimed at improving the quality of disclosure and their value to the users. In particular, the paper covers the reduction of clutter in financial reports by avoiding duplication in disclosures and using tests of materiality more rigorously.

The FRC believes that a disclosure framework is a framework that draws together all the various strands of financial reporting that relate to disclosures. The aim is to develop a coherent framework within which standard setters and other regulators can set disclosure requirements and preparers and auditors can apply them. The FRC anticipates that this will improve the quality of information provided to users.

The FRC believes that the benefits of a disclosure framework are:

• the content of disclosures being more targeted to the needs of users;
• ensuring that regulators only add disclosures to financial reports where those disclosures meet the objective of financial reporting;
• more consistent setting of disclosure requirements across standards;
• a reduction in the burden of disclosures arising from setting proportionate disclosure requirements;
• the elimination of duplicate information within financial reports;
• better organisation of disclosures, which will make financial reports easier to navigate, as information fulfilling set objectives will be positioned within the same section of a financial report;
• empowering preparers to apply materiality more robustly to disclosures; and
• elimination of boilerplate disclosures.

The publication of this paper builds on the FRC’s work with the Autorité des normes Comptables and the EFRAG to develop a disclosure framework for the notes to the financial statements.
 
Roger Marshall, Director of the FRC, said: “We believe that there is a need to curtail the piecemeal approach to disclosures and develop a coherent framework for disclosures in the financial report. We anticipate that this will lead to disclosures in financial reports being more relevant to the needs of the users of those financial reports whilst at the same time cutting clutter”.

 This paper contributes to the FRC’s work on influencing the development of IFRSs.

Press release

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