By David JonesThe staff of the International Accounting Standards Board has recommended that the board postpone for one year the effective date of its standard on revenue recognition it issued jointly with the Financial Accounting Standards Board in 2014.Concerns have emerged about International Financial Reporting Standard 15: Revenue from Contracts with Customers, according to a staff paper posted on the IASB web site on April 21.FASB Proposes Delay FASB tentatively decided in April 2015 to delay for a year the effective date of its revenue-recognition standard.Under the staff proposal, IASB would postpone the effective date for IFRS 15 from Jan. 1, 2017, to Jan. 1, 2018, although entities would be allowed to apply the standard earlier.News reports that the trustees of the International Financial Reporting Foundation recommended the one-year delay are “misleading,” a board spokesman told Bloomberg BNA April 22.“It's purely down to the board,” the spokesman said, noting that the “trustees have no role in standard setting.”Proposed Exposure Draft The staff recommended that the board issue an exposure draft (ED) comprising narrow-scope amendments intended to clarify the standard and a separate ED to set the Jan. 1, 2018, date for it to come into force.FASB also is considering limited-scope amendments to the standard, the staff paper noted.‘Somewhat Unusual’ Procedure Though the IASB amendments would be limited and would clarify IFRS 15 provisions instead of changing them, proposing narrow-scope amendments to the converged standard would be “somewhat unusual,” the staff paper acknowledged.Still, “those amendments are expected to facilitate implementation, rather than hinder it,” the staff said.Removing Uncertainty Any uncertainty surrounding the amendments, however, will persist until IASB decides to either finalize or reject them, the staff noted.Amendments to IFRS 15 would be confirmed later this year or in early 2016.Reacting to Concerns Consideration of the delay comes in response to concerns voiced by companies, IASB advisory panels, and a national standard setter.The IASB staff reported that many U.S. and international stakeholders have indicated that they would benefit from additional time to implement the converged standard.Allowing additional time also would make entities, auditors, and others more likely to resolve implementation issues alone, or within industry groups...