Hans Hoogervorst speaks about IFRSs at stakeholder event

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02 Feb 2015

At the IFRS Foundation trustees’ stakeholder event in Zurich, Switzerland, IASB Chairman Hans Hoogervorst provided an update on IFRS progress, use of IFRSs in Switzerland, and steps taken to address complexity and volatility.

Chairman Hoogervorst began by noting that 114 out of 138 jurisdictions surveyed have adopted IFRSs and another 12 have allowed the use of IFRSs. In Europe, a consultation is underway to evaluate companies’ experiences with IFRSs. Most of the feedback received has indicated that IFRSs have resulted in improvements to financial reporting. Chairman Hoogervorst also provided an update on the increasing use of IFRSs in Japan and China as well as the recent convergence efforts with India.

In addition, he touched on the reasons why some Swiss companies have changed their reporting methods from IFRSs or U.S. GAAP to Swiss GAAP. He stated that the main reason this change is occurring is to reduce complexity and disclosure requirements. Further, he indicated that the IASB is “constantly confronted with trade-offs between [its] desire to give as much information as possible on the one hand, and [its] wish to keep costs for preparers manageable on the other hand.” However, he mentioned that one of the objectives of the IASB’s disclosure initiative project is to make complexity more manageable.

The full transcript and a video recording of Chairman Hoogervorst’s speech are available on the IASB’s website.

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