Transitioning from national accounting standards to IFRS: motives and implementation

The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have become the globally established set of accounting standards. In many countries, their application is mandatory when the reporting company or group makes use of the organized capital market. In some cases, and particularly for companies and groups that are not capital-market-oriented, there is an option to apply either the traditional national accounting rules or IFRS.

The decision to choose between national accounting standards and IFRS must be carefully considered by management. This article discusses the key decision-making criteria and outlines the fundamental steps involved in transitioning from national accounting standards to IFRS.