The key objective of the Taskforce is to provide policy advice to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in respect of the following:
To examine how the current financial reporting regimes for the various types of reporting entities in Australia can best be understood and, if needed, make recommendations regarding rationalisation of the regimes (for example, through better regulation of who needs to report and/or providing a vehicle for co-ordinating existing and new legislation).
The Taskforce may consider the following matters:
- What are the financial reporting and assurance requirements that are currently in place in Australia as they apply to the different types of entities that are required to have publicly available reports (for example, companies, managed schemes, government departments and organisations, indigenous corporations, associations, unincorporated ventures, co-operatives, superannuation funds, trusts, charitable and not for profit organisations, trust funds etc.)?
- How can these financial reporting and assurance requirements and the framework in which they rest be best categorised, understood and communicated?
- Are there deficiencies and/or inconsistencies in the structure and content of these financial reporting and assurance obligations?
- Are there any overlaps or duplication in the purpose or content of these financial reporting and assurance obligations?
- Are there opportunities for improving and streamlining these financial reporting and assurance obligations to improve consistency and efficiency having regard to the objectives of financial reporting and assurance, as set out in the Australian Accounting Standards Board's Conceptual Framework underpinning general purpose financial reporting and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board's explanatory framework for audit and assurance engagements?
- Are there any improvements to policy and to the institutional oversight framework that can be recommended to ensure that changes to financial reporting and assurance obligations in the future take place consistently and efficiently, having regard to the Australian Accounting Standards Board's Conceptual Framework underpinning general purpose financial reporting and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board's explanatory framework for audit and assurance engagements?