McCreevy counters IFRS criticism
Commissioner admits process is 'difficult' but worth the effort
Internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy has defended the European
Commission’s decision to adopt international financial reporting standards amid
growing criticism of the new regime, but admitted that the process was
‘difficult’.
Speaking to the Federation of European Accountants in Brussels last night,
McCreevy acknowledged the struggle that some companies had gone through to
implement the new standards, but said it would be worth it in the end.
‘I know it’s hurting… but I would like to reassure you that it will work, and
that the pain is well worth the gain,’ he said in the Financial Times.
He added that the process had been ‘difficult, cumbersome and expensive’ and
that ‘many of the standards will be capable of being improved.’
Concerns within the business community are growing over IFRS.
Recently, AstraZeneca CFO and chairman of the Hundred Group of FDs, Jon
Symonds expressed doubts over the quality of the new rules, while in an
interview published in Accountancy Age tomorrow, Barclays CFO Naguib
Kheraj said the bank had spent £50m on IFRS conversion, only to make its
accounts less transparent.
