On October 3, 2013, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) published final amendments to National Instrument 81-106 Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure (“NI 81-106”), as well as to its Companion Policy and related amendments to other instruments, marking the final step in the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) for investment funds.

The amendments require investment funds to prepare financial statements in accordance with Canadian GAAP applicable to publicly accountable entities and to report compliance with IFRS, for financial years beginning on or after January 1, 2014.

Although amendments related to the application of IFRS were initially proposed in 2009, they were not implemented by the time securities legislation was first changed to reflect the transition to IFRS by reporting issuers and registrants other than investment funds.  To accommodate the timing of the investment fund-specific revisions, the Canadian Accounting Standards Board issued a deferral of the mandatory IFRS changeover date for investment funds until January 1, 2014.

The final amendments published by the CSA took into account comments received on the 2009 proposal, additional International Accounting Standards Board developments and further stakeholder input. Subject to receipt of the necessary ministerial approvals, the amendments will take effect on January 1, 2014. The amendments can be viewed on CSA members' websites.