Our quarterly newsletter, The Bank Statement, brings you an overview of the accounting issues affecting banks.

The biggest accounting development for banks today is likely to be IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, which will have a significant impact on the balance sheet, along with accounting systems and processes. Ongoing deliberations on how to implement IFRS 9’s new impairment model – conducted by the ITG, a discussion forum set up for this purpose by the IASB – will be of particular interest.

The new revenue standard, IFRS 15, will also be high on banks’ agendas, along with other accounting projects – e.g. accounting for dynamic risk management, insurance, distinguishing liabilities and equity, and leases.

And these accounting requirements may be impacted by regulatory requirements, such as those issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.