Research topic: Principles of Disclosure: Better Communication in Financial Reporting In 2013, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) received feedback that stakeholders had three main concerns about the information that is disclosed in financial statements (IFRS, 2019). These three concerns, which are referred to as the 'disclosure problem', were: 1. not enough relevant information; 2. too much irrelevant information; and 3. ineffective communication of the information provided (IFRS, 2019). As a result, the IASB established the Disclosure Initiative for the purpose of exploring how to make disclosures more effective in financial statements (IFRS, 2019). As part of the Disclosure Initiative, the IASB completed four projects for the purpose of making "targeted improvements to IFRS Standards and guidance" in order to provide "tools to help preparers and other stakeholders improve communication in financial statements" (IFRS, 2019). These four projects were: 1. Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements; 2. Amendments to IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows; 3. The publication of IFRS Practice Statement 2Making Materiality Judgements; and 4. The publication of amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8 which refine the definition of material and clarify its application (IFRS, 2019). The main outcomes of the research project were: 1. Prioritisation of the IASB's Targeted Standardslevel Review of Disclosures project; 2. Addition of a new project on accounting policy disclosures to the IASB's agenda; and 3. Develop guidance and examples intended to help entities apply materiality judgements to accounting policy disclosure (IFRS, 2019). The Disclosure Initiative is part of the IASB's 'Better Communication in Financial Reporting' project, details of which are provided in the following link to the IFRS webpage: https://www.ifrs.org/projects/better-communication/

REQUIRED

1, Identify and explain the amendments that were made to both IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows as part of the Disclosure Initiative.

2,Refer to both the 2014 and 2015 financial reports of QBE Insurance Group Ltd;

i. What was the page length of the financial report in both 2014 and 2015 and was it reduced in 2015 and by how much?

ii. What was the total number of notes in the financial report in both 2014 and 2015 and were they reduced in 2015 and by how much?

iii. Explain, using examples from both the 2014 and 2015 report, as to whether or not the notes to the financial statements were grouped into logical categories or sections in 2015 that aligned to the organisation's business and strategy as opposed to 2014?

iv. Compare and contrast the disclosure of accounting policies in the associated notes in both 2014 and 2014. Then, explain, using examples from both the 2014 and 2015 financial reports, as to whether the accounting policies in 2015 were disclosed with more simplified language.

v. Were call out boxes utilised to highlight information on material estimates and judgements in 2015? Explain using examples from the 2015 financial report.

the finacial report can be found below

https://www.qbe.com/-/media/group/document%20listing/2018/06/01/05/57/7930qbeannualreportall2015v22v15fa6.pdf?download=1

https://www.qbe.com/-/media/group/document%20listing/2018/06/01/08/11/qbe_ar14_full_report.pdf?download=1