1. Accounting(An Exposure Draft of the proposed amendment to PITF No.44,“Accounting Policies Applied to Foreign Subsidiaries for Consolidating Financial Statements”.)
The revision of PITF No.18, “A Practical Solution to the Unification of Accounting Policies Applied to Foreign Subsidiaries for Consolidated Financial Statements” is two-fold. The first is in response to the USGAAP revision to allow private companies to amortize goodwill. On January 2014, the U.S. Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) revised FASB – ASC Topic 350 “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other”. Under the revision, private companies may make an accounting policy decision OR hold an accounting policy election to amortize goodwill. The amendment will be in effect in annual periods beginning after December 15, 2014. Early application is permitted.(Souce:“Keiei Zaimu Magazine”No.3194)
2. Taxation (Tax incentives for International Strategic Special Zones.)
Under the tax reform issued on June 2011, qualified corporate taxpayers in the zones can benefit from tax incentives such as a 50% special depreciation of the acquisition cost of machineries. To qualify for the incentive, they need to be placed into service by 31 March 2016. (Source:“Syuukan Zeimu Tuusin”No.3340)
3. Labor Management(Enforcement of The Amended Part-Time Employment Act.)
For the purposes of securing the fair treatment of part-time workers and improving their working conditions, the amended Part-time Employment Act will go into effect on April 1st, 2015.
The major amendments include the following 4 points:
- The expansion of the scope of part-time workers who shall be treated as equal to comparable regular workers in terms of contractual terms.
- The establishment of a new principle concerning the fair treatment of part-time workers.
- The establishment of a new obligation for employers to explain certain matters to employees at the time of hiring.
- The establishment of a new obligation for employers to improve and maintain a system to respond to employees’ consultations.
It is recommended that employers should analyze their current status carefully and take the necessary actions. (Source:Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare website, “Amendment to Part-Time Employment Act”)
4. This Week’s Words of Wisdom
“After setting a clear goal, what matters afterwards is tenacity.”
“Flushes of inspiration are born from tenacity.”
(Momofuku Ando, Inventor of the Cup Noodle and founder of Nissin Corporation)
The words are truly impressive since they are from one of the greatest Japanese inventors in the postwar era.
The referring page is Nagamine & Mishima JC Accounting K.K.
