OSFI advises against early adoption of some new or amended IFRS standards

Canada’s financial solvency regulator has advised against early adoption of some new or amended International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued in May and June 2011, including the IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement.
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) sent a letter to all federally regulated financial companies dated Oct. 31, 2011. The letter itemizes eight financial standards and says federally regulated entities (FREs) “should not early adopt the new or amended IFRSs outlined in this letter.”
The standards listed in the letter are:
•Consolidation and related standards
     oIFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements
     oIFRS 11 Joint Arrangements
     o IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities
     oIAS 27 Separate Financial Statements
     oIAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures
•IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement
•Amendment to IAS 19 Employee Benefits
•Amendment to IAS 1 Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income
Instead, OSFI says, “FREs should adhere to the mandatory effective dates as stated in each of the respective IFRSs.”
“Given the considerable work effort in transitioning to IFRS and amount of recently issued IFRSs with a similar effective date, OSFI believes that this position provides a reasonable timeframe for FREs to adequately plan, analyze and implement these accounting standards within their organization,” the OSFI letter says.