CM Autumn Template - Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario

18 CheckMark • Autumn 2009
Member Services
News
Ingrid Enhagen, CA
Director of Member Services
MEMBER SERVICES NEWS
New standards for private
enterprises now final
The Accounting Standards Board approved the content of
the final accounting standards for private enterprises in
Canada at its September meeting. The standards are now
in the final drafting stages. They are expected to be issued
by the end of the year so that they will be available for
2009 reporting for entities that choose to adopt them.
The private enterprise standards give Canadian
businesses the ability to choose to adopt either new “made
in Canada” standards or International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS). Private enterprises must decide which of
the sets of standards to adopt for years beginning on or
after January 1, 2011.
Thanks to all who provided comments during the consultation
processes that have taken place over the last couple of
years. Your opinions did make a difference! They have
resulted in notable changes in the new standards. These
include simplification of recognition, measurement and
presentation in areas that were identified as being overly
complex, particularly accounting for financial instruments.
The simplified accounting requires less use of fair values.
Also, depending on the nature of the enterprise, there may
be significant reductions in disclosure requirements.
Views expressed in response to the consultations held this
past summer resulted in a number of changes being
approved to the proposed standards identified in the
Exposure Draft. These include:
• addition of a fair value option that permits an
enterprise to elect fair value measurement for any
instrument;
• deletion of the proposed requirements to disclose
management compensation and amounts of
government remittances in arrears; and
• extension of the simplified approach for defined
benefit plans to include all defined benefit plans, not
just those for controlling owners and/or their spouses.
To learn more, go to www.cica.ca/pe or visit
www.acsbcanada.org and read the Decision Summary for
September 22-23, 2009.
CA Select Insurance Plans add to
portfolio
Critical Illness coverage: December 15, 2009 deadline
Have you deferred buying critical illness coverage due to
all the medical questions on the application form and
possible medical tests you might have to undergo? For a
limited time, you can purchase $25,000 of this coverage
without meeting medical requirements, other than a preexisting
condition limitation which is outlined on your
application. It’s guaranteed! The coverage, which covers
18 common critical conditions, such as life-threatening
cancer, heart attack, stroke and kidney failure, can provide
you with the financial resources to help you and your family
manage your recovery.
Catastrophic Health Insurance Plan
A new health insurance plan was added this fall to the CA
Select family. Perhaps you have a basic health insurance
plan or are capable of handling a basic level of prescription
drugs or hospital care for yourself and your family, but would
be unable to cope if something out of the ordinary came
along that required substantially more expensive treatment.
This plan is not intended to provide you with the coverage