Is your company making the transition to Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises (CICA Handbook, Part II)? Do you have employees in a defined benefit pension plan? You should know that the Accounting Standards Board has approved amendments to CICA 1500, “First-time adoption” and Section 3461, “Employee future benefits.” According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the amendments:
Permit an entity that accounts for its defined benefit plans using the deferral and amortization approach to carry forward at the date of transition to ASPE any unrecognized actuarial gains and losses and past service costs that were determined previously in accordance with Part V, CICA 3461, Employee Future Benefits, or an equivalent basis of accounting such as Part I, IAS, Employee Benefits.
Deloitte seems to think the amendments will also apply to non-profits under Part III of the Handbook, and that they won’t apply before 2014.
Feel free to let us know how your transition is going!
Adam Gorley
First Reference Internal Controls, Human Resources and Compliance Editor