Moving to the IFRS for SMEs in Ireland

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08 Nov 2009

Since 2005, listed groups in Ireland have been required to prepare their consolidated financial statements using IFRSs.

Almost all other groups have a choice. They can use IFRSs, Irish GAAP as developed by the Accounting Standards Board (ASB), and if they are small they have a further option of using the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (FRSSE). But from 2012, the options are expected to change. Irish GAAP is expected to be replaced with the IFRS for Small and Medium-sized Entities. Deloitte (Ireland) has published Choosing Your GAAP: Planning for the Proposed Removal of Irish GAAP (PDF 4,132k) explaining the ASB's plan. The publication examines the choices, explains the key areas of accounting and tax impact, and provides guidance on planning for the change.

The entities directly affected by these plans include:

  • Companies which are listed and have not adopted IFRS in their individual financial statements
  • Subsidiaries in listed groups that have not adopted IFRS throughout the group
  • All public limited companies that are not publicly accountable
  • All private groups and companies
Where consolidated accounts are prepared using IFRS, company law allows a choice of using Irish GAAP or IFRS for the company's individual financial statements. Deloitte research shows that many listed companies still use Irish GAAP in their parent company only accounts and thus use Irish GAAP for their Irish subsidiaries. Many others use IFRS for the parent company only accounts but continue to use Irish GAAP for subsidiaries.

 

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