Jon Symonds, chief financial officer of AstraZeneca and chairman of the Hundred Group of FTSE 100 finance directors hit out at investment analysts' attempts to predict the winners and losers when IAS is introduced across the EU next year.

Symonds told The Independent: 'There are already a number of analysts' reports out there trying to assess the impact on various industry groups, but there is simply not enough information available yet in the published accounts.'

He said there would be 'such a deluge of information' that the propensity for confusion would be high.