The Impact of IFRS on Industry

Preface

During the course of my lectures across India and abroad on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and other accounting related topics, I was always fascinated by the questions that the participants put forward. Each session was different and so was each question. There were, of course, questions that were not in any way related to accounting or standards but that is to be expected anywhere. Probably what fascinated me more was that accountants were able to pose questions on how, for instance, a refractor should be accounted considering its use, or whether an internally generated brand qualifies for recognition as an intangible asset when the brand has been hypothecated to a bank and funds obtained. Most of my employment was with companies that were based in the United States and hence I had exposure to the industry-specific provisions of US GAAP. As IFRS grew in importance, my mind was filled with thoughts as to how different industries would be impacted if they transitioned to IFRS. Those thoughts are set out in this book.

Having worked in different industries, I have extrapolated an IFRS-implementation scenario in these industries to ascertain the impact. For other industries, I have researched the annual reports of large companies operating in these industries and asked questions of friends and associates working in these industries. As always, the internet threw up way too much information – I have digested this information and present only the relevant ...