Bolkestein admits IAS39 will cause market confusion
The European Commission's decision to alter financial instruments standard IAS39 could cause confusion in the markets for years, according to the man responsible for the 'carve-out'.
Internal market commissioner Frits Bolkestein admitted in an interview with the Financial Times that the new regime would take time to adjust to but said that the compromise reached on IAS39 was a ‘risk worth taking’ rather than going into 2005 without a standard at all.
Problems are expected as some companies choose to follow the full standard, as written by the International Accounting Standards Board, while others use the EC’s altered version, making comparisons difficult.
Some companies still believe that even the amended version of the standard still introduces too much volatility into their accounts.