RSS feedsResearch by KPMG’s International Financial Reporting Group has found that the application of IFRS is more influenced by the companies’ country of domicile and previous accounting standards than its industry.
According to the research of 200 companies in 16 countries, cross-border consistency lags as a secondary influence in all sectors other than in financial institutions.
“The post-2005 generation of IFRS financial statements show their lineage – of previous national standards, training and culture,” says Mary Tokar, head of the KPMG IFRG. “But there is an opportunity now to look at competitors and comparators. Companies will discover that it is informative to look at their financial statements and ask, ‘Are we the odd one out?’”
Yet, while the first wave of conversions to IFRS is now over, the job is far
from done. “As companies settle into life under IFRS, the drive for global
consistency will enter a new phase,” she says.
www.kpmg.co.uk/ifrg
