Changes to Australian GAAP from adopting "IFRS equivalents"
24 Aug 2004
The Australian Accounting Standards Board recently issued 40 new or revised accounting standards applicable for all financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2005 (see our news story of 17 July 2004).
Early adoption of the standards is not permitted. Those standards – sometimes referred to as Australian equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (A-IFRSs) – will result in some significant changes as compared to practice under current Australian GAAP. Deloitte (Australia) has published a 24-page booklet explaining the major (PDF 2,089k). None of the new A-IFRSs is 100% compatible with the corresponding IFRS for the following reasons:
- Wording has been amended to accommodate the Australian legislative environment, for example, reference to the Corporations Act 2001 in the application paragraphs.
- Additional or amended requirements for not-for-profit entities.
- In some cases the AASB has permitted only one of a number of options available in the corresponding IFRS.
- Additional disclosures.