IFRS and ASPE

This posting includes discussion of Canada's new Accounting Standards for Private Enterprise ... and some differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS.

References are given on where to find more information including differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS ... Webmaster September 9, 2010

Is there any information on IFRS?

Hello,

Thank you for question and topic suggestion.

IFRS / ASPE

With regards International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) ... and Accounting Standards for Private Enterprise (ASPE), I briefly discuss this topic in my articles on The Balance Sheet and Basic Accounting Concepts.

This bookkeeping site is targeted to (1) work from home small business owners who do their own books and (2) bookkeepers who are just starting their practices and working from home.

In Canada, IFRS will become the accounting standard, beginning January 2011, for publicly traded companies and companies looking for international trade/financing ... that means it is a bit outside the scope of this site.

It is complicated further in that Canada will also be adopting ASPE which is Accounting Standards for Private Enterprise at the same time. This will replace our current GAAP and has been tailored specifically to meet the needs of private companies which are being referred to as non-publicly accountable enterprise (NPAE).

In a Deloitte newsletter, dated April 13, 2010, it explains how to determine which standard to use.

• Use IFRS if you have an impending IPO, have a parent company or a significant investor that requires IFRS compliant information, and where specific business activities warrant conversion to IFRS.


• Use ASPE if you have not issued public debt or equity instruments ... and are not planning to do so, and do not hold fiduciary assets.

I will see if I can write an article on the difference between these two standards. My worry is that I will be discussing something I have no experience in ... but I think there is more information out there now that we are closer to the implementation date.

But to assist you right now, I did a quick bit of research. I found AICPA has a website devoted solely to IFRS at www.ifrs.com . Towards the bottom of their page, there is a backgrounder report and a primer on IFRS which you may find useful.

I also found the PricewaterhouseCoopers website at http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/ifrs/index.jhtml had some good information. They actually have an interactive map where you can select the country you are interested in. I keyed in "Philippines" just for fun!

Sorry I couldn't be more help at this time ... but watch my blog / RSS Feed for something shortly ... and thank you very much for the excellent topic suggestion!

Have a fabulous week :0)