Disclosing the effects of IFRS changeover
08 Apr 2005
The importance of explaining the effect of first-time adoption of IFRSs was highlighted in a speech by Terence O'Rourke, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland earlier this week in Dublin.
Mr. O'Rourke cited an example of the price of shares in an Irish bank tumbling after it announced lower IFRS earnings, though its circumstances had not changed. He suggested that market misunderstanding, including the failure of financial analysts to study and take account of the effects of the IFRS changeover, was a major cause of the price decline. "What it has done, however, is illustrate the importance of providing a context to accounting information provided to the capital markets," Mr. O'Rourke said. Click to download Mr. O'Rourke's Remarks (PDF 31k).