International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), formerly known as International Accounting Standards (IAS), have received increasingly favorable attention in recent years, beginning with the endorsement by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and then, especially, after the European Union mandated use of the IFRS by all EU Member States′ publicly held companies, beginning in 2005. Thus, as over 7,000 companies in the twenty–five Member States prepare their consolidated financial statements in early 2006, they will be making a major, and possibly difficult, transition to the IFRS from various predecessor national GAAP standards. Other major nations, including Russia, China, and Australia are also transitioning to IFRS, and both the U.S. and U.K. standard setters are committed to a process of convergence with the IFRS. Thus, there is accelerating momentum toward worldwide embrace of these financial reporting standards–which a few short years ago were virtually unknown to most major reporting entities.
IASC, predecessor of the current IASB, began its efforts about thirty years ago, and enjoyed modest success. Many of the national standards mandated by developing nations′ standard setters already were either closely based on the IFRS or were direct endorsements of the international standards; now, with the most highly developed nations rushing to embrace the IFRS, there may soon be a truly worldwide set of financial reporting standards.
Wiley IFRS 2006 is the compact yet truly comprehensive reference guide that accountants and auditors can rely upon as they gain an understanding of the intricacies of financial reporting under the IFRS. To facilitate this process, Wiley IFRS 2006 contains many real–world examples, illustrative key financial reporting and disclosure issues, a comprehensive disclosure checklist, an updated, detailed comparison between the IFRS and U.S. GAAP, and a thorough explanation of the special requirements of first–time adoption of IFRS reporting. All IFRS and related pronouncements through IFRS 7 are covered in elaborate detail, with interpretive guidance provided by seasoned practitioners with global experience in financial reporting.
The up–to–date and exhaustively edited 2006 edition contains coverage of important and complex new requirements such as:
∗ IFRS 1, First–Time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards
∗ IFRS 2, Share–Based Payment
∗ IFRS 3, Business Combinations
∗ IFRS 4, Insurance Contracts
∗ IFRS 5, Noncurrent Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations
∗ IFRS 6, Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources
∗ IFRS 7, Financial Instruments: Disclosures
The 2006 edition continues detailed coverage of all previously issued IAS standards, including the recently revised financial instruments and hedge accounting standards IAS 32 and IAS 39. New for 2006 is a comprehensive treatment of present value concepts and computations, which are increasingly important given the ongoing incorporation of fair value into financial statement measurement requirements. Many new illustrative examples have been added to all chapters. Other complex areas receiving expansive coverage are:
∗ IAS 2, Inventories
∗ IAS 17, Accounting for Leases
∗ IAS 18, Revenue
∗ IAS 19, Employee Benefits
∗ IAS 27, Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements
∗ IAS 30, Disclosures in the Financial Statements of Banks and Similar Financial Institutions
∗ IAS 36, Impairment of Assets
∗ IAS 38, Intangible Assets
∗ IAS 41, Agriculture
Barry J. Epstein, PhD, CPA, a partner in the firm Russell Novak & Company, has almost forty years experience in the public accounting profession, as auditor, technical director/partner for several national and local firms, and as a consulting and testifying accounting and auditing expert on over seventy litigation matters to date. His current practice is concentrated on providing technical consultations to CPA firms and corporations on US GAAP and IFRS accounting and financial reporting matters; on US and international auditing standards; matters involving financial analysis; forensic accounting investigations; and on corporate governance matters. He regularly serves as an expert on litigation matters, including assignments for both the private sector and governmental agencies.
Dr. Epstein is a widely published authority on accounting and auditing. His current publications include
Wiley GAAP, now in its 2nd edition, for which he is the lead coauthor. He has also appeared on over a dozen national radio and television programs discussing the crisis in corporate financial reporting and corporate governance, and has presented over a hundred educational programs to professional and corporate groups in the US and internationally. He previously chaired the Audit Committee of the AICPA s Board of Examiners, responsible for the Uniform CPA Examination, and has served on other professional panels at state and national levels.
Dr Epstein holds degrees from DePaul University (Chicago BSC, accounting and finance, 1967) University of Chicago (MBA, economics and industrial relations, 1969), and University of Pittsburgh (PhD, information systems and finance, 1979).
Dr. Epstein wishes to acknowledge the contributions of coauthor Abbas Ali Mirza, particularly in the original conception of this book in 1996.
Abbas Ali Mirza, CPA, ACA, AICWA, has brought his expertise in auditing, finance, and taxation to a variety of positions with major international firms in the US, India, and the Middle East. He is currently a partner with Deloitte & Touche, based in the United Arab Emirates, where he is responsible for audit clients and is a member of the firm s regional Assurance and Advisory Committee, responsible for technical and learning support throughout the region. He is a frequent speaker and workshop leader at global conferences on international financial reporting, has coauthored regular newspaper columns and written features for the media in the Middle East and India, and has been widely quoted as a commentator on business issues.
Mr. Mirza is also a member of the Accounting Standards Committee of the Securities & Exchange Board of India, and is involved in professional and regulatory affairs in India and Dubai, UAE. He has spoken at several United Nations conferences on financial reporting and corporate governance matters, and is associated with a number of other professional initiatives germane to worldwide adoption of IFRS.
