Canadian business confident of readiness for IFRS changeover

A survey of Canadian Chartered Accountants in senior executive roles suggests that many companies believe they will be ready for the changeover to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), but they remain in the early stages of preparedness. About 425 senior executives were surveyed in November 2008. (Read the CICA Media Release.)

European Commission grants equivalence in relation to third country GAAPs

The European Commission has adopted measures which determine that GAAPs in the US, Japan, China, Canada, South Korea and India are equivalent to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Commission will review the situation of some of these countries (China, Canada, South Korea, India) by 2011. It will also regularly monitor the ongoing status of equivalence. The measures mean that foreign companies listed on EU markets will continue to be able to file their financial statements prepared in accordance with those GAAPs (the transitional provisions allowing the use of these GAAPs in the EU would otherwise have expired at the end of 2008). (Read the Press Release.)

IASC Foundation publishes update on responses to G20 conclusions

The IASC Foundation has published a table summarizing the actions and ongoing work by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in response to the conclusions reached by the G20 leaders in their summit in Washington DC on November 15, 2008. (For more information, read the IASC Foundation Press Release.)

SEC Signals No Major Shake-Up for Fair Value

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox, speaking this week at an AICPA conference, said investors have told the SEC that fair value measurement has increased transparency in financial reporting. But Cox signaled that the SEC would call for some additional guidance on fair value measurements. (View highlights from Chairman Cox's speech.)

How IFRS is affecting accounting education

For those charged with educating the next generation of accountants, the expected shift from US GAAP to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) stirs up a host of potentially thorny issues. Professors and college administrators are dealing with questions about the timing of the curriculum expansion and the resources needed to handle IFRS. They are examining how to reconfigure course work to make room for international standards. (Read the article On the Verge of an Academic Revolution.)