International Financial Reporting Standards - IFRS

IFRS reporting comes to India in 2011. Are you ready? We are...

With less than 387 days to go before public interest entities start preparing their first financial information under IFRS, assuming that India converges with IFRS from April 1, 2011, Grant Thornton is committed to keeping you informed and helping you get ready for this change.

IFRSs are increasingly being viewed as the single set of high-quality accounting standards for global capital market participants. Today over one hundred countries have already transitioned to IFRS. It is still too early to tell whether non-profits, private companies and governmental entities will eventually adopt IFRS. However, it is clear that IFRS will play an increasing role in the global business community.

We track the developments of IFRS globally and how India gears up for its transition and provide you insights on emerging patterns of problem areas in implementing

IFRS reporting in India - Proposed Timelines

Reporting under IFRS, as proposed by ICAI, would be applicable for accounting periods beginning on or after April 1,2011. As a result, the financial results of public entities for the quarter ended June 2011 would be reported under IFRS. If India goes for the adoption route, considering the requirements for comparatives under IFRS, entities would have to prepare an opening balance sheet as of April 1, 2010 (or other transition date), and compile full IFRS financial information from that date. However, if India goes for convergence of Indian standards with IFRS, there may not be a need for comparatives from April 1, 2010 and accordingly, the opening balance sheet date would be April 1, 2011.

Prepare for change

Adoption of IFRS has strategic implications and will require harmonization of internal and external reporting. The business plans, earnings estimates and management remunerations plans that have reported earnings as the basis will have to be revisited as these are expected to undergo some degree of impact due to this convergence. Managing the investor and market expectations will also be of paramount importance for the management and would form a critical component of the convergence process.

The key to successfully managing this change is by preparing for it. It is important that Companies plan for the adoption and anticipate the issues that your business will face on adopting IFRS. Grant Thornton member firms both in India and other parts of the world have significant experience of having worked with Companies implementing IFRS, and we understand the key challenges that companies face and have helped companies overcome these challenges. Grant�Thornton International has also published IFRS Top 20 Tracker, which summarises the leading twenty disclosure & accounting issues that Companies across the globe have been encountering while preparing their IFRS financial statements.

How can we help you?

Our IFRS team in India has significant experience gathered from a large number of IFRS engagements executed over the past several years. We feel the time to prepare for the change is now. Our team has prepared the groundwork and is ready to help you assess your needs and manage the adoption process. Contact us to assist you in your journey towards adoption of IFRS.

Watch this page for the road ahead towards the adoption of IFRS in India.

Click here to view our IFRS related documents...