UK ASB unanimously favours accepting IAS 39 in Europe
14 Jun 2004
In its Response to EFRAG's request for comments on whether IAS 39 should be endorsed for use in Europe, the UK Accounting Standards Board expressed the unanimous view of its members that: In the absence of a standard on the recognition and measurement of financial instruments, those dependent on a high quality of financial reporting – the investors in the international capital markets, and their investment analysts – would regard information provided by EU listed companies as potentially inconsistent and lacking in transparency.
That would have very damaging consequences and would seriously undermine the integrity of financial reporting within the EU. Although we recognise that concerns about the standard remain, our view is that none is of sufficient significance to outweigh the benefits that would result from adoption of IAS 39 in time for application from 1 January 2005.