The translation is being undertaken in response to constituent requests for translation of accounting terms, and to calls within Malaysia to uphold the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language. The translated glossary is intended to encourage consistent terminology in financial statements, accounting textbooks and teaching resources in Malaysia. It may also assist in the development of resources for the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in Malaysia from 2015.

The Request for Views provides the following background:

The MFRS glossary comprises 1,822 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) terminologies extracted from the Glossary of Terms. This list is also inclusive of the glossary extracted from the IFRS issued by the IASB as at 31 December 2012... The MFRS issued by the Board in 2011 are fully IFRS-compliant standards. Hence, the MFRS glossary is word-for-word to the IFRS glossary. The MFRS glossary range from existing and new terms extracted from the MFRS and also the accompanying documents which include the Basis for Conclusions, Illustrative Examples and Implementation Guidance.

The primary source of the proposed translations are publications produced by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) (a Malaysian authority with responsibility for standardised translations), supplemented by equivalent words in Bahasa Malaysia, and in rare circumstances, the use of the original English term. Translations for over 1,700 terms are included in the Request for Views.

Comments on the Request for Views are requested by 31 March 2014. Click for press release (link to MASB website).