Controlling your risk when converting to IFRS

The Journal Of Accountancy recently published a post that looks at how companies can take precautions when it comes to converting from GAAP to IFRS. One of the key areas that will be affected during the conversion will be IT, as many of the systems will be changing due to the new accounting methods. Read the full article here.

CPAs knowledge in IFRS and GAAP

The IFRS blog recently asked if your CPA was bilingual. Although the United States has not yet fully committed to adopting IFRS, many other countries throughout the world have begun to take the steps to adopt this new worldwide accounting system. EM sees a new state of accounting in 2012, that where either the US has adopted IFRS or an accounting world where IFRS and GAAP coexist. So, he believes CPAs should begin now learning how to account in both systems. Many accounting classes throughout colleges have already begun to integrate this new system. What do you think? Even though it's not clear if accounting will be in the IFRS system by 2012, should CPAs begin acquainting themselves now? If you are a CPA, what's your stance?

Canada to switch to IFRS by 2011

According to Reuters, public Canadian companies are slow to adapt the new IFRS accounting system. With over 100 companies adopting IFRS, the slow implementation of IFRS could leave some companies rushing to convert to the system before official deadline switch of January 1, 2011.

Yet the study, conducted by CFERF, FEI Canada, and sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed that 12 percent of the 147 public companies surveyed had not yet taken the first step of starting their initial diagnostic assessments.

About 80 percent of public companies remained short of the halfway mark in their overall conversion process.

Read the full story here.

Will principle based accounting improve financial reporting?

In a recent article at The Vancouver Sun, they look at Canada's current switch of public companies to the IFRS accounting system. They believe that the standards are important, but one must also consider the quality of the accounting and financial statements that are in use. They did a study and found out that a principle based approach to accounting can improve the reporting, but the auditors must also have a principle based approach to auditing as well. Read the full article to see how they found that accounting was affected by the different approaches.

IFRS and the IT world

In a new article at Computer World, they look at the upcoming decision on converting the United States' accounting system to IFRS, which is regarded globally as the universal accounting standards. This will: help provide transparency information to investors, make it easier to understand financial statements, and help companies make more efficient investment decisions. The decision will be made in 2011 as to whether to adopt the process, and all conversions to the system will have to take place by 2014. The article looks at how CIOs will have to change their current practices. Read it here.