The major disadvantage in the short run will be the cost to businesses of adopting the new standards. For some years into the future, Accountants will have to understand both their own country's "traditional" GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) rules, as well as the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). Having to understand two different sets of rules requires extra time and work on the part of accountants, and that costs money.
There will be some inefficiencies (e.g., the cost of changing historical audited financial statements prepared under the old rules, just for the sake of comparability with later year financial results) and resulting extra expense (those accountants have to be paid for all that extra work!) for the company whose financial statements will have to be restated.
The financial markets community, whose members analyze American financial statements, will also have to re-learn how to read the financial statements of U.S. companies under the new accounting rules.
Another disadvantage is related to the fact that under the old rules, the financial statements of companies of a given country were geared to specific user groups. For example, German financial statements were geared mostly toward creditors and potential creditors, while American financial statements were geared toward investors and potential investors. So there will be some users of financial statements who won't find statements prepared under the new standards as useful as those prepared under the old standards. As time passes, this problem will go away as readers of financial statements become accustomed to seeing financial data prepared under IFRS.
The ultimate advantage is that the financial statements of (e.g.) a German pharmaceutical company will be prepared under the same set of accounting rules as those of an American pharmaceutical company, so investors will be able to directly compare the financial statements of the two companies in deciding where to invest in this increasingly global economy.
International Financial Reporting Standards
FRS - Financial Reporting StandardsIn UK, the chief standard-setter for financial accounting is the Accounting Standards Board (ASB), which issues standards called Financial Reporting Standards (FRSs). The ASB is part of the Financial Reporting Council, an independent regulator funded by a levy on listed companies.IFRS - International Financial Reporting StandardsInternational Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are standards and interpretations adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). This is used extensively in EU and there are efforts being made to converge accounting standards globally to IFRS.
International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee, a support group of the International Accounting Standards Board who issues clarifications and application guidelines to the existing International Financial Reporting Standards in order to resolve any inconsistencies or controversial issues.
you may be thinking of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAPP). These rules are pertinent to US companies. Internationally we have IFRS- International Financial Reporting Standards
Financial accounting and reporting standards recommended for use by businesses throughout the world are established by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are a set of accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that is becoming the global standard for the preparation of public company financial statements.IFRS is particularly beneficial to large companies that have subsidiaries in different countries. Adopting a single set of global standards simplifies financial reporting, allowing management to use one reporting framework across the whole group. Assessing IFRS Adoption:In late 2012, the IFRS Foundation began working on a comprehensive pro- ject to assess progress toward the goal of global accounting standards, directed by this author. The project has three related objectives:· To develop a central source of information to chart jurisdictional progress toward global adoption of a single set of financial reporting standards· To respond to assertions that many national variations of IFRS exist around the world· To identify how the IFRS Foundation can help countries progress on their path to adoption of IFRS.orGuidelines and rules set by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that companies and organizations can follow when compiling financial statements. The creation of international standards allows investors, organizations and governments to compare the IFRS-supported financial statements with greater ease. Over 100 countries currently require or permit companies to comply with IFRS standards. The International Financial Reporting Standards were previously called the International Accounting Standards (IAS). Organizations in the United States are required to use the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). See also International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC).Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/International-Financial-Reporting-Standards-IFRS.html#ixzz2UFsbX1OQ
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are a set of accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that is becoming the global standard for the preparation of public company financial statements.IFRS is particularly beneficial to large companies that have subsidiaries in different countries. Adopting a single set of global standards simplifies financial reporting, allowing management to use one reporting framework across the whole group. Assessing IFRS Adoption:In late 2012, the IFRS Foundation began working on a comprehensive pro- ject to assess progress toward the goal of global accounting standards, directed by this author. The project has three related objectives:· To develop a central source of information to chart jurisdictional progress toward global adoption of a single set of financial reporting standards· To respond to assertions that many national variations of IFRS exist around the world· To identify how the IFRS Foundation can help countries progress on their path to adoption of IFRS.orGuidelines and rules set by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that companies and organizations can follow when compiling financial statements. The creation of international standards allows investors, organizations and governments to compare the IFRS-supported financial statements with greater ease. Over 100 countries currently require or permit companies to comply with IFRS standards. The International Financial Reporting Standards were previously called the International Accounting Standards (IAS). Organizations in the United States are required to use the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). See also International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC).Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/International-Financial-Reporting-Standards-IFRS.html#ixzz2UFsbX1OQ
Push down accounting is not acceptable under IFRS.
Companies usually use the accounting standards of their home country. If the company is headquartered in the US, then it uses US GAAP. If it is headquartered in Europe, then it uses International Financial Reporting Standards.
Accounting standards help to standarise the financial reporting of companies in all areas to make it easier to make comparisons. With the international accounting standards it allowes this to become international, once exchange rated have been applied.
The basic foundation of governmental financial accounting and reporting in the United States was established by the Governmental Accounting Standards Boards (GASB) in its "Objectives of Financial Reporting,"
When it comes to business, there is a common global language for accounting. This is known as IFRS, or the International Financial Reporting Standards.