‘It’s much more work than I thought it was’
Bob Laux is having almost daily meetings with about IFRS and what Microsoft will need to do to manage the change
International Financial Reporting Standards
Resources
Brussels warns on accounts rules
The European Commission has warned that it will be months before it decides whether to support a radical overhaul of accounting rules on how banks and other financial institutions value their assets
Europe schism threatens world accounting rules
Global convergence of accounting standards seemed close as the International Accounting Standards Board released new rules for use in more than 110 countries outside the US. But Europe, at least for now, has excluded the bloc
EU delays adoption of accounting rule changes
Brussels holds back the radical overhaul covering banks and insurers which came into force across most of the rest of the world amid a split over asset valuation under the new rules
Related content and features
Case studies
CBA: Merits of switch still under debate
Elizabeth Fry looks at how IFRS affected Australia’s largest bank
France Telecom: Lack of clarity may lead to confusion
Further changes will bring even more problems, writes Ben Hall
IBM: A single standard makes sense for global business
Good preparation is a prerequisite, says Paul Taylor
Comment and Analysis
Politicians must allow rulemakers breathing space
Accounting has rarely been so political. During the past six months, elected officials have forced the accounting standards boards to change their rules
Accounting changes
Confusion reigns. If the world’s accounting bodies were deliberately trying to destroy confidence in bank financial statements, they could hardly have done a better job
Revising the rules
The way forward is an international review of the role of accounting in the financial crisis, not hasty changes to the rules
Disclose the fair value of complex securities
Efforts by banks to escape the strictures of fair-value accounting are gaining support among regulators and legislators, but should be resisted, write Robert Kaplan, Robert Merton and Scott Richard
Lex: Fair value accounting
The longer spent qualifying a rule, the less workable it becomes. Convergence on a simple, clear global standard cannot come soon enough
International codes
The switch to IFRS will be helpful to the US and to the rest of the world. But implementation will be tough on businesses, and will need firm resolve from policymakers
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