The New IAS 19 Exposure Draft

At the end of April 2010, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published an exposure draft with proposed changes to International Accounting Standard No. 19 (IAS 19). IAS 19 is the current standard for the financial reporting of company pension obligations that stem from defined benefit (DB) and similar plans. It is required for exchange-listed companies in many parts of the world. If enacted, the changes to IAS 19 proposed by the IASB are expected to have a significant impact on company financials on a global basis. The following paper summarizes the proposed changes as presented in the April 2010 exposure draft and explores some of their implications. This paper does not cover all the changes proposed by the IASB but attempts to focus on some key and controversial issues.