AASB/FRSB issue Standards facilitating Mutual Recognition

Media Release
13 May 2011

AASB/FRSB issue Standards facilitating Mutual Recognition

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and the New Zealand Financial Reporting Standards Board (FRSB) today issued Australian Accounting Standards and New Zealand equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (NZ IFRSs) which complete the convergence work on accounting standards for publicly accountable for-profit Australian and New Zealand entities.

The Chairman of the AASB, Kevin Stevenson, commented; “the benefits of the new standards will be consistency of reporting across the Tasman and reduced preparation costs”.

“They also open the way for the relevant government agencies to remove the burdens associated with regulation affecting financial reporting by branches, subsidiaries and sub-consolidations” he said.

The Chairman of the FRSB, Joanna Perry, commented that “the standard setters have completed their share of the trans-Tasman convergence for for-profit entities. We now call on both Governments to make legislative changes to permit an entity to prepare a single financial report that is acceptable in both Australia and New Zealand.”

Mr Stevenson noted that: “the convergence work has been the result of co-operation and thoughtful compromise on the part of the Australian and New Zealand Boards, working together over some time”.

Mr Stevenson added: “the Boards’ efforts accord with the Joint Prime Ministerial Statement of Intent and the Single Economic Market Outcome Proposals issued by the Prime Ministers of both countries in August 2009”.

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