Approach to IFRSs 'more dependent on country than sector'

News Article - 19 December 2006
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How businesses approach international financial reporting standards (IFRSs) depends more upon which country the company is situated in and what accounting systems are already in place than the industry sector, a study has shown.

A survey conducted by KPMG International Financial Reporting Group found that of the 200 respondent companies based in 16 nations, most approaches were affected by domicile before industry, except in the case of financial institutions, Accountancy Magazine reports.

The publication cites the example of a Spanish pharmaceutical company and a Spanish retailer as having more similar accounting statements than those of retailers based in Spain and France.

Mary Tokar, head of the KPMG International Financial Reporting Group, said: "The first massive wave of conversions to IFRSs is over, but it's clear that the job is not done yet.

"As companies settle into life under IFRSs, the drive for global consistency of standards and their interpretation will enter into a new stage," she said.

She added that the company expected pressures from markets to force consistency across the boundaries of countries, which should become irrelevant where IFRSs are concerned.

The Financial Times recently stated that there had been a large number of meetings and initiatives across the world towards the end of November and the start of December concerning IFRSs and their implementation.

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