|
In
brief
EU
to accept US GAAP
US
firms with a listing in the EU may soon be able to file their accounts
under existing US rules rather than reconciling them with European
standards, it has been suggested.
EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy is expected to
tell the European Accountancy Federation this week that the EU should
allow accounts filed using US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
(GAAP), reports Reuters.
“And it is certainly my intention to propose that no reconciliation
to IFRS [International Financial Reporting Standards] will be needed
for companies filing their accounts under US GAAP,” he is expected
to say.
The move follows discussions between the EU and the US to enable
foreign firms with a listing in the US to issue statements without
being required to reconcile their reports to US GAAP.
Earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission voted
to allow such a move if statements are prepared using the standards
issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
India moves towards international standards
The move towards International Financial Reporting Standards in
India will require “very minor changes”, it has been claimed.
Ved Jain, Vice President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of India (ICAI), said that the existing Indian standards are close
to the international standards already, the Business Standard reports.
“It will nowhere affect the performances of the companies or
make them incur losses. The standards are different only to the
extent of centigrade and Fahrenheit,” he explained.
According to the news provider, India is set to align its accounting
standards with international ones in 2011-12 and is presently preparing
financial professionals ahead of the move.
Mr Jain said that there has been “huge demand” for common
accounting standards in recent years as globalisation has reached
its “peak”.
The ICAI celebrated 50 years of service in 1990 having been established
under the Chartered Accountants Act on July 1st 1949.
Up to that point, professionals within the sector were known as
Indian Registered Accountants.
PwC: Gap in insurance financial reporting
There is a “significant gap” in the information that insurance
analysts believe they need to complete tasks effectively and the
quality of insurance financial reporting, it has been claimed.
PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that analysts claim this “adequacy
gap” is most evident in countries that use International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Ian Dilks, global insurance leader at the firm, said that analysts
are seeking greater “transparency and comparability”,
which may pose a “challenge” for both companies and those
who set standards.
“By working together with the standard setters, the industry
can play a key role in developing greater comparability,” he
remarked.
The greatest gap in information was found in Europe, where analysts
were said to “ignore” IFRS statements and use embedded
value disclosure instead.
In related news, Robert Herz, chairman of the US Financial Accounting
Standards Board recently suggested that the US should move towards
IFRS.
Audit firm notes “seeds of change” in market
The managing partner of audit firm BDO Stoy Hayward has suggested
that the market for listed company audits is beginning to change.
Jeremy Newman claimed that there have been “seeds of change”
within the market, with larger firms now choosing to employ the
company’s services.
Large corporations recognise that the firm can offer “high-quality”
audits and a “more personal approach” than other accountancy
firms, he commented.
“That is perhaps why we continue to have more FTSE 350 audit
clients than any other firm apart from the Big Four,” he said.
Mr Newman made his comments following the publication of BDO Stoy
Hayward’s financial results revealing that the company had
increased its national turnover by ten per cent during the financial
year to June 30th 2007.
In related news, BDO International announced this week that BDO
France SAS will become its new member firm in France next month.
The company presently has four offices in Paris, as well as operations
in Burgundy and Provence.
Banks criticise move to introduce a single EU regulator
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has warned that establishing
a single EU financial regulator would be “disruptive”.
According to the Independent, the BBA suggested that the EU should
instead target the way legal and accounting issues are dealt with
in each of the member states.
The newspaper reports that the BBA proposed allowing banks to fall
under the supervision of the regulator in their own country, while
enabling such bodies to regulate them in other states.
The BBA said: “Moves to introduce a single regulator in Europe
would not only be disruptive but also could result in inappropriate
compromises and a remote and unresponsive regulatory system.”
Earlier in the month, the BBA said that “financial stability
and transparency” ought to be the fundamental principles of
the UK’s financial services sector.
In evidence given to the Treasury select committee, the organisation
said that stability should be the key aim of both financial companies
and regulators.
IASC Foundation gets started on XBRL
The IASC Foundation’s trustees have announced the first members
of the extensible business reporting language (XBRL) advisory council
and XBRL quality review team.
According to foundation, the advisory council is intended to offer
strategic advice to its trustees and the XBRL team on the best ways
to develop XBRL taxonomy for International Financial Reporting Standards.
Meanwhile, the quality review team is set to “assure the quality”
of the taxonomy by reviewing those put forward by the foundation.
Olivier Servais, IASC Foundation team leader, commented: “The
calibre of applications for membership of these two advisory bodies
demonstrates the wide interest in interactive data and its importance
to the world of financial reporting.”
The advisory council is due to meet for the first time next month,
while the review team is to convene in January next year.
John White, head of the division of corporate finance at the US
Securities and Exchange Commission, said earlier this month that
the organisation has been asked to “make a recommendation”
on the introduction of XBRL, reports Reuters.
|
