Friday, April 11, 2008
Treasury 'misjudged' complexity of IFRS
Delay in implementing IFRS leaves government struggling with two competing standards to account for PFI
The delay in implementing international accounting standards will leave government departments and local authorities to chose between two 'competing' standards when accounting for PFI, the Treasury has been warned
The confusion opens the way for public bodies to exploit the 'arbitrage' potential of the two standards - or use the one that best suits their agendas.
The loophole was revealed in a Commons Treasury committee report expressing 'disappointment' over the delay to IFRS, which it blamed on the Treasury having misjudged the complexity of the issues involved, 'in particular the issue of accounting for PFI assets'.
See full Article.