The Ontario Securities Commission has reviewed many Ontario issuers’ International Financial Reporting Standards financial reports and found them lacking in key respects. Based on first quarter 2011 IFRS filings, the OSC found three main deficiencies:
- Missing IFRS 1 reconciliations
- Missing opening IFRS statement of financial position
- Missing statement of changes in equity
The OSC’s report on the Q1 results (PDF) notes that “Reporting issuers that file documents with these deficiencies will be requested to refile their interim financial reports, along with revised interim CEO/CFO certificates.”
Surely this will apply to organizations outside of Ontario as well.
According to the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants:
These deficiencies also highlight that internal control over financial reporting (ICFR) and disclosure controls and procedures (DC&P) are another important aspect to the IFRS transition, and issuers should establish or modify specific ICFR and DC&P in order to prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS and securities legislation.
We agree.
The CICA offers a number of resources for transitioning to IFRS here.
The OSC offers its own transition information here.
Adam Gorley
First Reference Internal Controls, Human Resources and Compliance Editor
