There is an increasing number of countries in the world that adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).  Countries such as Singapore, Rusia, India, Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa—including Indonesia—require or allow IFRS reporting for companies in their countries.

IFRS is a set of accounting standards developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) which is becoming the global standard for the preparation of public company financial statements.

By adopting to the IFRS, companies can present their financial statements on the same structure as their competitors making it easier for comparison purposes.  It may also benefit companies when they want to raise capital abroad.

Indonesia has started the convergence process between its accounting standards (PSAK) with the global IFRS.  According to Professor Boediono, the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, in his keynote speech at the 5th IFRS Regional Policy Forum in Bali, the convergence of Indonesian accounting standards with international accounting standards is not an easy pathway.  He also said “IFRS convergence is not just an accounting issue. The main purpose of the convergence is to improve the quality and transparency of financial statements of companies in Indonesia.”

Preparing your accounting system for IFRS

In addition to training, a key component of preparing for IFRS is ensuring that your accounting, financial management, or ERP (enterprise resource planning) system is capable and ready for the change. If your organization uses Sage Accpac ERP, you are in luck. Sage Accpac has features and functionality that will support your transition to IFRS.

• Sage Accpac currently allows users to choose from a wide range of configuration options to ensure their transactions are processed and their accounts are kept in compliance with whatever local rules they happen to operate under.
• All of the countries in the European Union are already compliant. In the Asia Pacific region, a large number of countries (including Australia, Hong Kong, and New Zealand) have national standards that are virtually identical to IFRS. Sage Accpac has over 13,000 clients in IFRS jurisdictions.