Compulsory status for standards in pipeline

International accounting standards may become mandatory in Europe within a few years, according to Accounting Standards Board chairman Sir David Tweedie. ‘That is why we’re taking them seriously,’ he said.

In a presentation to the conference Tweedie conceded that the battle over deferred taxation had been lost. The ASB has fought a rear-guard action in favour of partial provisioning, while the International Accounting Standards Committee recently voted in favour of full provisioning. As a result, Tweedie revealed, the ASB will be putting forward new deferred tax proposals in the Autumn.

An accounting standard which reflects the reality of leases will be in place by 1999, Tweedie promised – even though the leasing industry considered this to be ‘the end of civilisation as we know it’, he admitted. The ASB’s guidelines on operating and financial reviews (OFRs) in annual reports are also to be revamped.