IFRS

'The better the information produced, the greater analysts' insight will be - they will be able to see the real value in the company and this will be reflected in the share price' - PwC survey respondent.

Recently, one company prepared its first financial statement according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and was shocked to see that its return on investment appeared to have fallen from 16% to 3%. Suddenly, it became clear to this company that the change to IFRS was about much more than number-crunching.

Financial reporting that is not easily understood by global users is unlikely to bring new business or capital to a company. This is why so many are either voluntarily changing to IFRS or being required to by their governments.

In making the change to IFRS, you are adopting a global financial reporting language that will enable your company to:

• Be understood in a global marketplace - many have already found that it helps them to access world capital markets;
• Reduce costs and position yourselves as international players;
• Communicate in one language to global stakeholders; this enhances confidence in the business and improves finance-raising capabilities;
• Apply common accounting across your subsidiaries, which can improve internal communications and the quality of management reporting and group decision-making;
• Ease acquisitions and divestments through greater certainty and consistency of accounting interpretation.