Standard setters 'already addressing landlords' concerns'
Standard setters are already looking at the concerns of social landlords facing the switch to IFRS, according to ASB chairman Roger Marshall
STANDARD SETTERS are already examining concerns raised by housing associations being forced to switch to international financial reporting standards.
Roger Marshall, chairman of the Accounting Standards Board, said many of the 20 responses received so far on the IFRS for SMEs consultation came from housing associations, and all share a common concern.
“Their worries relate to options within the standards, and they cover two themes: revaluation and capitalisation of borrowing costs,” he revealed.
Known as FRSME, the simplified accounting standards are supposed to reduce the burden of reporting, but some users are clamouring for the options to be reinstated. Allowing property revaluation lifts the value of assets by taking account of appreciation in the years following a purchase, making landlords’ balance sheets appear much healthier.
Marshall said the ASB is aware of the issue and is “looking at options”, saying the housing associations’ concerns were discussed at a board meeting last Thursday.