Keep GAAP, says QCA chief executive

The chief executive of the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA), a lobbying group for listed mid-sector UK businesses, says that the UK has not yet seen a strong enough business case to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

In the first installment of his new blog, exclusive to Financial Director, Tim Ward argues that the UK has not yet seen a compelling business case for switching out of UK GAAP and into IFRS.

"While the ASB has rolled back a bit from replacing UK GAAP in full with IFRS equivalent as originally proposed in its first consultation, we at the QCA are not persuaded that the case for changing from the existing arrangements has been made well enough - especially not in terms of a cost/benefit basis," says Ward.

"Any cost/benefit calculations have not been done with smaller growth companies in mind and instead the focus has been on larger companies in the FTSE-350. Any change must demonstrate a significant and sustainable benefit otherwise it is not worth implementing. All constituents of UK plc need to receive a material benefit, not just the largest ones," he adds.

To read the full blog go to our blog home, Extraordinary Items. Tim's blog for the QCA will appear here in the third week of every month.