MUSCAT -- KPMG's fifth Breakfast Seminar was conducted at Al Bustan Palace Hotel 2009 yesterday. The seminar on 'IFRS for SMEs' brought together regulators and a range of professionals across the business community in Oman. It is a significant development for small and medium sized entities and KPMG's prompt initiative to update the users through a presentation will help SMEs keep up to date with the international standards.
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has on July 9, 2009 issued an International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) designed for use by SMEs, which are estimated to represent more than 95 per cent of all companies worldwide. The standard is a result of a five-year development process with extensive consultation of SMEs worldwide.
Khalid Ansari, Partner of KPMG in Oman, mentioned that the seminar had received an excellent response, with representatives attending from State Audit Institution, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Central Bank of Oman, Department of Taxation and a wide variety of industry groups and corporate houses. Ansari established the theme of the seminar while he addressed the gathering. He stated that IFRS has been mandatory in Oman and companies have been complying with IFRS since 1986.
According to him 80 to 85 per cent of companies in Oman could be classified as SME, hence, the new IFRS is very important. He also mentioned that the criteria for adoption should be established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) and he maintained that MOCI along with the users of the standard will formulate the applicable guidelines for use of the SMEs. The purpose of the seminar is to initiate a discussion and reach a consensus on the criteria for applicability.
The seminar was led by Philippe Longerstaey, a former partner of KPMG Belgium. Philippe has been actively involved in IFRS and US GAAP training in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) region. He discussed in detail the new IFRS for SMEs and the key differences from the IFRS. As defined by the standard, Philippe stated that SMEs are companies that do not have public accountability and they publish general purpose financial statements for external users. These could be used for the financial statements ending December 31, 2009 resulting in the reduced level of disclosures for SMEs. Philippe also discussed some of the key factors determining the success of IFRS programme that would enhance the overall confidence in the accounts of SMEs and also reduce the insignificant costs involved in maintaining standards.
The sessions held were interactive to ensure focused participation. Several participants shared their own experiences and challenges in this area and welcomed the suggestions made by others and the KPMG team. KPMG, a leading international firm offering professional services in Audit, Tax and Advisory has conducted insightful breakfast seminars on tax, corporate governance, cost optimisation, IT security and many others in the recent past. KPMG has played an important role in helping a wide range of businesses respond to opportunities and challenges, improve their performance and increase their value.
© Oman Daily Observer 2009
