Feedback from respondents on ED 293
BC42 The Board received 14 formal comment letters on ED 293, and undertook targeted outreach with key stakeholders including professional bodies and regulators.
BC43 The key feedback received on ED 293 indicated that overall the majority of respondents agreed that the proposals set out in ED 293 would increase the transparency and comparability of special purpose financial statements, however a number of respondents had concerns about the costs that may be incurred by entities in making the disclosures proposed in ED 293 exceeding the benefits of the resulting information. Respondents were particularly concerned about the costs of the ED 293 proposals exceeding any benefits for for-profit private sector entities given the ED 293 proposals were intended to be only a short-term measure for these entities. This is because the broader project proposing to remove the ability for certain for-profit private sector entities to prepare special purpose financial statements when they are required to comply with Australian Accounting Standards is expected to be completed by 30 June 2020.
BC44 The Board considered this feedback and decided that in order to better balance any additional costs with any benefits to financial statement users, it was necessary to limit the scope of this Standard to apply only to not-for-profit private sector entities. This is because the broader project to remove the ability for certain not-for-profit entities to prepare special purpose financial statements when required to comply with Australian Accounting Standards would take some time. The Board also decided to amend the required disclosures related to compliance with Australian Accounting Standards to reduce any costs that may be incurred in complying with the new disclosures. The significant matters considered by the Board in making these decisions are addressed below.