EU, Australia, South Africa etc adopted IFRS in 2005. Canada, South Korea and Mexico are amongst the countries that have also shifted to IFRS recently. It left only India and US amongst the key G-20 nations not having fructified legally adoption of any form of IFRS as of today. India which was supposed to converge to IFRS from 1st April 2011 is likely to now converge from 1st April 2012. Considering the global movement, IFRS is a definite reality in India.
Revised Schedule VI is an initial advancement in that direction only. Next in line are Indian Accounting Standards (‘Ind AS’), which are being issued by ICAI in line with IFRS. 35 Indian Accounting Standards (‘Ind AS’) converged with IFRS are being notified and placed on the ICAI’s website but effective date of the Ind AS is to be notified at a later date.
Yet understanding IFRS or Ind AS and its implications is a business imperative for Indian companies and conversion brings a one-time opportunity to comprehensively reassess the impact on future financials and take ‘a clean now clearer later’ approach to financial policies, processes and most importantly results.