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New to the IFRS community? Whether you are preparing yourself or your company for the transition to IFRSs, the CICA and Provincial Institutes/Ordre provide a wide range of resources.
Preparing yourself All Canadian accounting professionals require an overall understanding of IFRSs, but the depth of knowledge you require depends on your current position and future career plans. The CICA’s Learning Path tool helps you identify training and educational programs to fit your own unique needs. If you are in the early stages of learning about IFRSs, you will be interested in the CICA’s primer course called Introduction to IFRS – Implications for Canadian Business, also referred to as the ABCs of IFRS. It is free, online and organized in four convenient modules. (The course qualifies for structured CPD credits for CAs). In addition, the Training and Events page on this website includes a broad range of conferences, courses and webinars. Preparing your company The transition to IFRS is now upon us. IFRS adopters are required to include one year of comparative financial information with the first annual financial statements that are prepared in accordance with IFRS. The first day of the first comparative period is referred to as the “transition date”. For companies with calendar year-ends, the transition date was January 1, 2010. Publicly Accountable Enterprises that are still in the preliminary stages of planning their transition will require an aggressive strategy to catch up. The amount of time and resources involved is dependent upon the unique circumstances of your organization. However, simple or intricate, making a seamless transition to the new standards requires a detailed strategy that encompasses: - Financial reporting – earnings and financial position
- Internal controls and processes
- Investor relations and communication to capital markets
- Information technology
- Foreign exchange and hedging activities
- Corporate income taxes
- Ratios and bank covenants
- Executive and employee evaluation and compensation plans
Take these key steps without delay: Create a cross-functional team. Even if your transition is relatively straightforward and guiding the changeover falls to one person, it is important to remember the transition is not solely a finance matter. There will be organization-wide considerations to take into account. Learn about IFRSs. This website includes a wide range of education, planning and implementation resources. Check out the Training and Events page and IFRS Transition Resources. Assess the impact of IFRS on your specific situation. The AcSB’s Bulletin, IFRSs: Guide for Procrastinators is a quick read (2 pages) and provides practical tips to begin the process. In addition, the CICA audio/slide presentation IFRS – Get to the Point helps you identify key transition steps and a transition work plan. This two part series is free and online. Study IFRS 1, First-Time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards. It is very important to gain a full understanding of this standard. It lays out the rules for first-time adoption and allows one-time options for enterprises converting to IFRS from their national GAAPs. Consider them early in the process so you aware of them, even before you know the details of all IFRSs, so you can return to them when assessing which accounting policies you will choose. Visit the IFRS 1 web page for more information and helpful resources Put the plan on paper: You may not require a formal written plan but your plan should clearly lay out roles and responsibilities and track progress. Keep the plan current − include important milestones and benchmarks and make it accessible to everyone who is affected by the changes. Communicate with the board, auditors, investors, lenders, employees, and other stakeholders. Click on Transition Resources and scroll down to Communication and Planning for helpful resources. |