There are approximately 130 publicly traded companies in Argentina, and they have approximately 500 subsidiaries and associates that will also prepare their financial statements using IFRSs. The CNV's proposed IFRS regulation would not apply to the following companies:

• Financial institutions (their financial reporting is regulated by the Argentine Central Bank, which has recently announced its intention to require IFRSs probably starting in 2014)
• Insurance companies (under the Argentine Insurance Oversight regulation)
• Civil associations
• Cooperatives
• Other entities under the control of the CNV (trusts, mutual funds, and small entities that discount checks).

Prior to 2011, the companies that will be moving to IFRSs will be required to disclose the coming change in a note to their 2009 financial statements and to include in their 2010 financial statements a reconciliation of income and shareholders' equity from current Argentine GAAP to IFRSs. By requiring IFRSs for companies whose securities are publicly traded, the CNV would be acting to adopt a resolution approved in March 2009 by the Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Económicas (FACPCE), which is the national accounting standard setter in Argentina. The FACPCE's Resolution – Resolución Técnica No 26: Adopción de las NIIF del IASB (PDF 64k) – states that the IFRSs issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), in the official Spanish translation issued by the IASB, must be applied – no local adaptations. Resolution No 26 also permits, but does not require, all other non-public companies to apply IFRS.

Click to view the proposal Adopción de Normas Contables Internacionales para la Preparación de Estados Contables (PDF 503k, Spanish).

There's more background information on our Argentina Country Page.