The challenges of the changeover to IFRS for over 550 listed companies in 12 European countries
The year 2005 marks a new stage in the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the countries of the European Union. At a time when companies affected by the change are beginning to issue their first financial statements under IFRS, we can state without doubt that the parties involved are, overall, moving forward as we would expect them to.
This survey, which we carried out in April 2005, at the time when the first detailed IFRS financial information was being published, testifies to the motivation of the economic parties involved and their confidence in the objectives being pursued through standardisation, but also to the length of the road ahead.
Mazars' latest survey, extending the scope* of the earlier survey carried out in the spring of 2003 to a wider area, illustrates the distance that has already been travelled, as well as the expectations of financial market participants - analysts, asset managers, attorneys or communication professionals - who are united in their desire for further information and transparency in order to measure the impact of the changes, and also to understand the strategic motivations behind selecting options under the new accounting requirements.
