The Conceptual Framework is a project managed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which aims to develop a clear set of general purpose financial reporting standards, accounting policies and clear interpretation of those standards and policies.

To enable interested parties – which include corporate treasurers – get a better understanding of the changes that are proposed and currently being consulted upon, the IASB has published a series of web presentations.

The series of recorded presentations go into detail on the Exposure Draft, which explains the IASB's rationale behind its proposals for improving the existing set of reporting standards and accounting policies. The changes include:

• refining the definitions of the basic building blocks of financial statements—assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses;
• a new chapter on measurement that describes appropriate measurement bases (historical cost and current value, including fair value), and the factors to consider when selecting a measurement basis; and
• confirming that the statement of profit or loss is the primary source of information about a company’s performance, and adding guidance on when income and expenses could be reported outside the statement of profit or loss, in ‘Other Comprehensive Income (OCI)’.

The next presentation will be available online on Thursday, 17 September. Six presentations are already online and can be accessed through the IFRS website.