Smaller companies struggle with IFRS
Listed companies are finally getting to grips with the forthcoming requirement to use international financial reporting standards, but progress is still slow according to a new survey.
Link: City on alert over IFRS cheats
The study of the readiness of European companies for IFRS by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that the largest companies and those registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission were well on the way to meeting the deadline. But smaller companies were struggling with the sheer scale of the task in front of them.
Of companies with a market capitalisation of over Euro 10bn (£6.93bn), 83% now have their IFRS project set up and 44% are confident they have all the necessary resources in place to make the change on time. For companies with a market cap of under Euro 0.5bn, these figures are much lower, with only 35% having projects up and running and just 15% confident of a timely conclusion.
‘Despite the fact that larger companies, particularly those in the financial services sector, are performing well above average in their IFRS preparedness, there is little room for complacency,’ said Ian Wright, head of PwC’s global corporate reporting group. ‘Most businesses have a considerable way to go before IFRS is integrated into their organisations.’