UNCTAD report on implementation of IFRSs

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21 Feb 2006

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has released a staff Review of Practical Implementation Issues of International Financial Reporting Standards (PDF 619k).

The document provides an overview of recent trends in the IFRS convergence process and highlights major practical issues that are arising in the implementation process, such as institutional challenges, enforcement mechanisms, and technical issues. UNCTAD noted that:

In 2005, an unprecedented number of enterprises and countries around the world adopted IFRS as their basis for financial reporting, regarding these as a means to improve the quality of information on enterprise performance, reduce the cost of capital, increase investors' confidence and facilitate investment flows and economic development. In this context, member States are pursuing coherence between current global developments and their national strategies and policies in the area of corporate transparency in order to reap the full benefits of a transition towards harmonization of reporting requirements. However, while the advantages of a common set of global reporting standards are recognized, there are a number of serious implementation challenges at the international and national levels if the objective of an improved and harmonized reporting system is to be achieved.

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