Hanson CEO joins ranks of IFRS critics

Hanson CEO joins ranks of IFRS critics

CEO of building material’s supplier Alan Murray lays into IFRS

Alan Murray, CEO of building material’s supplier Hanson, has become the
latest senior executive to criticise international financial reporting
standards.

Speaking to Accountancy Age after CIMA’s biannual Anthony Howitt
lecture, which debated the private equity boom, Murray said: ‘IFRS is making the
profit and loss account completely incomprehensible to investors, both retail
and institutional.’

Murray added that fair value had irked him in particular.

CIMA president John Coghlan echoed Murray’s beliefs, saying that meaningful
details had been sacrificed for compliance: ‘IFRS is all about technical
compliance. If something is worth £10 and you buy it for £9 because of your
technical expertise, you’ve still got to put it down as costing £10 because of
the fair value requirements – a tenth of the value which you’ve saved has been
lost in the P&L,’ he said.

Murray also hit out at the current regulatory climate: ‘Those of us who are
directors of publicly quoted companies today would probably say that business
life is much less fun than it was ten years ago, and regulation has a lot to do
with it.’

Share

Resources & Whitepapers

The importance of UX in accounts payable: Often overlooked, always essential
AP

The importance of UX in accounts payable: Often overlooked, always essentia...

1y Kloo

The importance of UX in accounts payable: Often ov...

Embracing user-friendly AP systems can turn the tide, streamlining workflows, enhancing compliance, and opening doors to early payment discounts. Read...

View article
The power of customisation in accounting systems
Accounting Software

The power of customisation in accounting systems

1y Kloo

The power of customisation in accounting systems

Organisations can enhance their financial operations' efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness by adopting platforms that offer them self-service cust...

View article
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

4y Accountancy Age

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
8 Key metrics to measure to optimise accounts payable efficiency
AP

8 Key metrics to measure to optimise accounts payable efficiency

1y Kloo

8 Key metrics to measure to optimise accounts paya...

Discover how AP dashboards can transform your business by enhancing efficiency and accuracy in tracking key metrics, as revealed by the latest insight...

View article