NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PricewaterhouseCoopers today released three new guides to assist companies in the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
IFRS, used by a significant number of companies outside the United States, is expected to replace U.S. companies' use of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the relatively near future. The globalization of business and finance has led to the successful mass adoption of IFRS by upwards of 12,000 companies in more than 100 countries. The option for some U.S. companies to apply IFRS may come soon as next year, with mandatory transition expected to begin in 2014. For some international companies listed in the United States, it is already a reality.
Understanding the costs involved in transitioning to IFRS, PwC is encouraging companies to prepare early for the change, and is facilitating the process through publications and consultations aimed at guiding business and accounting professionals through the implementation and adoption processes.
10 Minutes on Transitioning to IFRS
(http://www.pwc.com/extweb/pwcpublications.nsf/doci/79BCA6195F364A9E852574BA00476313)
The latest installment of PwC's executive briefing series on essential accounting and business issues offers an easily digestible guide to the most important issues in IFRS transition, including how management communicates with investors post-transition; how some companies may need to change their business practices with customers and vendors; and how the transition will affect compensation. The piece also emphasizes that beginning the transition early may offer considerable benefits. Because company-specific modifications are needed, a cookie-cutter approach to IFRS transition won't work.
Mapping the change: IFRS implementation guide
(http://www.pwc.com/extweb/pwcpublications.nsf/docid/5be242f93d591d9d852574b800710b9a)
Walks business leaders through the three phases of conversion to IFRS, including the preliminary assessment, the initial conversion and incorporating IFRS changes into day-to-day operations. This implementation guide details:
-- How to prepare for the conversion and minimize the impact on
the company's stock price
-- Tangible key elements to a successful conversion, including
project management, communication to stakeholders and training
-- The need for advanced planning to enable companies to control
costs, understand and manage the challenging scope of
implementation and ensure a smooth transition plan
-- Which tasks are essential and which can be modified,
accelerated or delayed to fit each company's conversion
timeline
Preparing your first IFRS financial statement: Adopting IFRS
(http://www.pwc.com/extweb/pwcpublications.nsf/docid/543374192ed81097852574b8006f0ad0)
Looks more closely at the first year of adoption, detailing the requirements of IFRS 1, the international standard for IFRS transition. The publication provides key considerations for U.S. companies adopting IFRS, as well as guidance and answers to some common questions. "Adopting IFRS" reinforces the point that, despite exemptions and exceptions to the retroactive application of some standards granted by the IASB to ease the first-time adoption of IFRS, many companies will need to make significant changes in their existing policies and collect new data for some disclosures. The report:
-- Details the optional exemptions and mandatory exceptions from
retrospective application for first-time adopters of IFRS
-- Includes guidance on disclosures and other considerations
required by IFRS to explain the impact of the transition
-- Provides an illustrative sample of IFRS reconciliation notes
for the first interim financial statements
-- Uses easy-to-read tables and charts to break down crucial
features of the standard
Finally, PwC recently conducted a website on IFRS in the U.S.: "One step closer to adoption of IFRS" to help financial issuers understand the SEC's actions in proposing a timetable for IFRS transition. That webcast may be accessed by clicking on the following link: (http://www.pwc.com/extweb/ncevents.nsf/docid/7ADF657C0FFBE2D28525749B0068CFCD)
PwC is committed to assist the U.S. capital markets in the transition to IFRS: We believe that one robust, and globally accepted transparent set of standards will benefit investors both in the United States and globally.
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