Canadian companies lagging in IFRS conversion process

Despite the fast-approaching Jan. 1, 2011 deadline for the implementation of international financial reporting standards (IFRS), more than 12% of public companies and 20% of the private companies surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers have not yet taken the first step in the conversion process.
PwC surveyed 256 companies — 147 of which were public, 51 were private and 28 were Crown corporations.
There are several reasons for the delay in taking the first step of beginning the initial diagnostic assessments, with 41% of public companies and 54% of private companies stating in the survey that they had other, higher priorities.
About 80% of public companies remain short of the halfway mark of the overall conversion process, the survey found. Private companies were lagging behind public companies, with 51% of the private companies saying that only 20% of their conversion process was complete.
“Our survey shows that companies were more likely to put cost containment at the top of the list of activities rather than IFRS,” said Diane Kazarian, PwC Canada’s national IFRS leader.
“While there may be many reasons a company might be waiting to begin the process, the fact remains that to be ready for 2011 with comparable data from 2010 they should have started long ago — especially for companies with multiple product lines, business units and complex IT environments.”