Trans-Tasman accounting standards one step closer

Trans-Tasman accounting standards one step closer

Australia and New Zealand are now one step closer to having a common set of financial reporting standards, as a result of the release of exposure drafts that will amend financial reporting standards in Australia and New Zealand.

At the point of adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Australia and New Zealand each made some changes to IFRS; some were the same in both jurisdictions and others were different.

In August 2009, both Governments signed a Joint Statement of Intent which included proposals to have only one set of financial statements prepared for companies that operate trans-Tasman in order to reduce the compliance burden. The issue of these exposure drafts is a significant step towards achieving this.

The exposure drafts propose to eliminate many of the IFRS-related differences between the two countries for for-profit entities and represent the first phase of a longer-term project to harmonise accounting requirements in Australia and New Zealand.

Kevin Stevenson, chairman of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, said both standards boards want to work towards harmonising the reporting requirements.

“It will be easier for businesses operating in both Australia and New Zealand to comply with one set of standards instead of two sets,” Mr Stevenson said.

“We welcome comments on these proposals as the first step towards a common set of financial reporting standards,” said Joanna Perry, chairman of the Financial Reporting Standards Board.

The exposure drafts are available at www.aasb.gov.au and at www.nzica.com. Comments are requested by 8 October 2010. It is proposed that any resulting amendments will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 July 2011, with early adoption permitted.

ENDS

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