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The ICAEW offers policy recommendations that act on the one hand as a basis for conversations about the longer-term impact of Brexit on reporting in the United Kingdom, and on the other as an illustration of the challenges that significant national economies face in using international standards.
The ICAEW examines the case for IFRS reporting by UK listed companies.
The ICAEW notes that the rapid spread of IFRS-based reporting in recent years means that the benefits of using international standards are no longer theoretical or merely asserted: a growing body of research shows that they are increasingly evident in practice.
The ICAEW suggests that, at a time when the IASB’s standards are increasingly regarded as the benchmark for reporting by listed companies around the world, a move away from IFRS would risk making the UK a less attractive market for investors. The ICAEW concludes that, as a major global financial centre, the UK should continue to adhere to internationally-accepted standards.
The ICAEW examines how the UK, as a major user of IFRS, can continue to exercise a level of influence on the development of reporting practice and standards commensurate with its position as a global financial centre. Apart from the influence that might be yielded by different approaches to the adoption of IFRS, we identify two main areas of focus: institutional participation, and more general influencing activity.
The ICAEW suggests that upon completion of the Brexit process, the case should be made by the UK authorities for UK participation on both the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board and the IASB’s Accounting Standards Advisory Forum.