OREANDA-NEWS  On 18 November was announced, that the second annual IFRS in Russia conference 2008 finished. It was held on November 10-11 at the Hotel Ritz Carlton in Moscow. Issues related to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) implementation by companies from Russia and the CIS, recent trends, regulation and supervision aspects and tasks to be addressed were the focus of attention of the conference participants. The event was organized by Ernst & Young in association with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and is one of the most significant events on IFRS implementation in the CIS countries held under the auspices of the IASB.

In the current economic situation the issues of transparency of reporting and disclosure of information about companies' financial position and risks inherent in their activities are becoming more and more important. Adoption of a single framework of high quality reporting standards acceptable globally is an even more pressing need. In recent years, IFRS have been increasingly used in many countries around the world, and Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other CIS countries are no exception.

Most leading Russian companies already report under IFRS. At the same time, the standards themselves are continuously developing and evolving, setting new requirements to transparency and quality of reporting. The companies preparing IFRS financial statements have to constantly monitor changes and improve their reporting systems to ensure compliance with the standards.

"The International Financial Reporting Standards are becoming the dominant reporting system in the world, and there is huge interest to it on the part of companies from Russia and the CIS," said Dmitry Weinstein, Partner, Ernst & Young Financial Reporting Group. "We are happy that the IASB realizes this and understands the importance of holding a conference where participants from CIS countries can obtain first-hand information on recent trends in the development of IFRS directly from the standard-setter."
Speakers at the conference included Professor Mary Barth, IASB member; Professor Alan Teixeira, IASB Director of Technical Activities, and other experts, who presented various points of view on the transition to IFRS in Russia. Conference participants included representatives of Basic Element, Vnesheconombank, Wimm-Bill-Dann, VTB, Evraz Holding, Interpipe, KazMunaiGaz, MegaFon, Mechel, Russian Railways, Rosneft, Rostelecom, TMK, Uralsib, UniCredit Bank and others.

"The conference is excellent. People are very knowledgeable, and they ask great questions", says one of the key speakers at the conference, Professor Mary E. Barth, Member, IASB . "It is very important to have such conferences during financial turmoil because IFRS helps make companies to be transparent and, as a result, more stable in the market, and this is very important now. I am sure we need to have more such events because they help build the IFRS reporting function".