The ASB is managed by the secretariat administratively established under the Registrar of Companies office (refer Figure 1.0 below);

The ASB secretariat is managed by an executive officer, Mr. Smith Sagao, and an assistant (currently vacant).

The primary function of ASB has remained adoption/approval, enforcement and monitoring of reporting standards in presentation of financial statements. Main compliance and enforcement work programs or projects undertaken by the ASB secretariat include;

• Enforcement & Monitoring of Financial Statements: Accounts/financial statements analysis exercises is conducted to ensure that reporting companies present their financial statements in accordance with approved standards and GAAP and other prescribed requirements under the Act. 

  
  Pursuant to the Sections 180, 181, 182 & 183 of the Act all reporting companies are required to lodge  certified copies of audited financial statements with annual returns to the Registrar of Companies, which are in then examined by the ASB to ensure they comply with the approved reporting standards and GAAP.
  
  

• Exemptions of Overseas: Review of overseas companies and provision of exemptions to the overseas companies on application under the policy statement “Exemption of Overseas Companies” which form a part of GAAP.

  
  Overseas companies are automatically reporting companies which are supposed to lodge both financials for the overseas company itself and for its PNG branch operations (Section 390 of the Act). But they can be granted exemption upon application to the Registrar pursuant to Section 380 of the Act and Section 55 of the Companies Regulation 1998 (the “Regulation”) not to file their branch accounts.

  
  Refer list of overseas exempted companies (Overseas Exempt Companies List).
  
  

• Reporting Currency Approvals: Provision of approvals under the ASB Directive 2 – “Reporting Currency” which form a part of GAAP. Reporting companies that have nominated a foreign currency as its reporting or measurement currency may apply to the Registrar for approval. So that they may present their financial statements in their nominated currency under the ASB Directive 2 once approval is granted.

  
  Refer list of ASBD 2 approved companies (Reporting Currency Approved List).
  
  

• Action Against the Defaulting Companies: Prosecution of defaulting companies, which are not complying or failed to comply with approved standards, has been considered. A number of companies are under review for lodgment of accounts with deficiencies would be recommended for possible action by the Registrar (Sections 185 & 187 of the Act).

  
  Since the commencement of accounts analysis exercises (refer work programme 1.) defaulting companies and their auditors have been advised to improve on the identified deficiencies in their financial statements and generally in their presentations.  

The ASB meetings are conducted twice a year whereby the appointed ASB members meet to deliberate on the reporting standards and other related issues. All standards are adopted or approved and or revoked by the board and goes for publication in the National Gazette.  No meetings have been held in 2008 largely due to a moratorium placed on issuance of new standards by IASB until 1 January 2009. The board intents to commence the meetings this year and fast tract any standards issued by IASB for adoption in various jurisdiction including the pending International Reporting Standard for Small-Medium Enterprises (IFRSs for SME).

As stated above the adoption or approval of international accounting standards (“IASs”), international financial standards (“IFRSs”) and any GAAP brought forward is being deliberated during the board meetings. The board approves IASs, IFRSs and any other relevant statements issued by the IAS that form part of GAAP. 

Any revisions done to the approved accounting standards automatically supersede the existing standards and are not necessarily approved for gazettal as resolved by the ASB. Only the withdrawn standards are revoked and removed from use through a gazettal notice.

Find attached a list of approved IASs/IFRSs and PNG GAAP (Approved IFRS & PNG GAAP).

A fee of K100.00 is imposed for the exemption of overseas companies and the approvals granted for reporting currency under the ASBD 2 as per Fee Schedule items 21 and 25 pursuant to the Section 5 of the Companies Regulation 1998 (the “Regulation”). Whilst a fee of K50.00 is charged for the ASB booklet containing list of all approved GAAP. 

The ASB secretariat plays a technical role in the authority and is set to expand in terms of its function and output in the long term. It has pushed forward a lot of unresolved accounting related matters or issues under the Act and in Papua New Guinea. Thus the Registrar of Companies’ office or the BRRD as a whole as the division have taken a commendable step forward whereby the division is able to deal with compliances issues or matters and address them amicably from a legal as well as an accounting perspective.