The Accounting Board (AAB / the board) of the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) held its 27th meeting on 30-31 March 2022, the first meeting for the year at AAOIFI head office, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.

The meeting commenced with a discussion on the board’s presentation of standards development and implementation update for the period January to March 2022, including the agenda and projects in the pipeline for the year. During the period, over six working group meetings and more than ten short sub-committee and executive meetings had been held for multiple AAB projects. Additionally, three public hearing sessions, one roundtable event on the Takaful exposure drafts, and one focus group on the FAS 1 “General Presentation and Disclosures in the Financial Statements” illustrative financial statements had been held.

The board agenda included reviewing and finalising Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) 41 “Interim Financial Reporting”. The finalisation process entailed discussion on recommendations received from the working group, including those received during the public hearings. Accordingly, the board adopted the final standard and approved it for issuance in light of the suggested changes.

The board agenda also including discussion on the initial draft of the first output of revised FAS 27 “Investment Accounts”. The board deliberated and agreed to the accounting treatments prescribed in the initial draft and requested that the secretariat and working group proceed with the suggested changes.

The board also discussed the initial draft of the AAOIFI Guidance Note on “Guidelines on Computation of Zakah for Islamic Financial Institutions” and instructed the secretariat to make further improvements before resubmission to the board for further elaboration.

On this occasion, Mr. Hamad Al Oqab, Chairman, AAB, stated that “in this meeting, the board approved the final standard on interim financial reporting that prescribes principles for preparing interim financial reports. The standard also covers the relevant presentation and disclosure requirements, emphasising the minimum disclosures specific to the Islamic financial institutions in line with various AAOIFI Financial Accounting Standards (FASs). He also added that “the board also agreed on its project and plans for the year, and it is keen to ensure that the AAOIFI financial accounting standards continue to meet the actual needs of the industry and address the dynamic changes in the Islamic finance industry.”

The board plans to hold its next meeting in June 2022.

All AAOIFI standards can be accessed exclusively by subscribers to the digital version of AAOIFI standards, and free subscription can be attained on the AAOIFI website: www.aaoifi.com