This follows the release of a four-month consultation in June which set out ways to improve the standard, following concerns about the difficulty of applying the existing definition.

This follows a post-implementation review (PIR) of IFRS 3 conducted in 2014 and 2015. That review identified that stakeholders find it difficult to apply the definition of a business in IFRS 3.

Because IFRS 3 is the result of a joint project between the IASB and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the business combinations requirements in IFRS standards and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) are substantially converged.

In the webcast, IASB board member Mary Tokar, formerly KPMG global leader of international financial reporting group, and technical director Michael Stewart provide an overview of the proposals.

The 26-minute webcast highlights two proposed new assessments that an entity would be required to undertake to help it determine whether it is acquiring a business or a set of assets:

• evaluation of concentration of fair value; and
• evaluation of whether an acquired process is substantive.

The IFRS 3 webcast is available here

Further information about the Exposure Draft - Definition of a Business and Accounting for Previously Held Interests (Proposed Amendments to IFRS 3 and IFRS 11) - can be accessed here

The deadline for comments is 31 October 2016.