Independent Review – Australian Accounting Standards Board
On 23 February 2016, the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) approved AASB 16 Leases. AASB 16 Leases requires all lease agreements to be presented on the financial balance sheet of the lessee. This measure will increase the transparency surrounding lease arrangements and make a lessee’s balance sheet better reflect the economics of its transactions. Consistent with the Government’s RIS requirements, the AASB certified the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) process and analysis as an independent review that has undertaken a process and analysis equivalent to a RIS. The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) does not assess independent reviews. The AASB estimated the average annual regulatory cost to business to be approximately $22 million. This has been agreed by the OBPR. Treasury has agreed to locate offsets within the current regulatory burden reporting period. AASB certified reports on the “Basis for Conclusions”, “Effects Analysis” and “Illustrative Examples” are available from the IASB support materials page (see the AASB No. 16) on the AASB website.