US firms see opportunities in IFRS switchover...

US companies see adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a chance to make improvements to the way they operate, according to a new survey. Read original article.

A study by Accenture found that 83 per cent of executives at US companies with a listed value of $1 billion (£680 million) believe the changeover from US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to IFRS will present them with a chance to make changes in their finance functions.

Dan London, managing director of Accenture's finance and performance management practice, said: "Those companies that view the conversion as an opportunity to upgrade their performance management capabilities, addressing compliance and risk management, as well as increasing operational efficiencies, are better positioned to drive value from the process."

However, firms should start preparing for the switchover now to make sure they are well placed to deal with any issues arising, he added.

Last year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued a roadmap for the transition to IFRS which could see the rules adopted by 2014.

IASB to improve derecognition requirements ...

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published a draft proposal aimed at improving the derecognition requirements for financial instruments. Read original article.

Derecognition occurs when an entity needs to remove an instrument from its financial statements.

The IASB is also proposing to enhance disclosure requirements in situations where a firm still has an ongoing involvement with an asset that has been removed from its statements in such a manner.

Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the IASB, explained that the use of special structures by banks to manage complex securitisation arrangements had brought this matter to the fore.

He said: "Financial structures have become increasingly complex and sophisticated, creating the need for improved ways of assessing whether an entity should derecognise assets or not."

The crisis also underlined the need for users of financial statements to have access to better information about off balance sheet risks, he added.

Recently, the IASB updated its fair value standards to bring them more closely into line with their US equivalents.