Johannesburg, Wednesday, 3 February 2010 - A single set of globally accepted and principles-based accounting standards focusing on transparency and capital market needs would be ideal for all stakeholders.
This is the primary conclusion reached by the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), which yesterday issued a report summarising its New York, Beijing and London roundtables discussing financial reporting, Making financial reporting simpler and more useful.
The roundtables, held in 2009, included input from world-renowned accounting and financial reporting authorities, among them Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
“After more than a year of round-the-world effort and dedication, we are pleased to bring the results of our endeavours to the public limelight,” said Kevin Dancey, GAA chair, who noted that the recent financial crisis proved that rules-based accounting was outdated and inadequate; that principles-based accounting was the way forward.
Nazeer Wadee, chief operating officer of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), was confident that the new approach toward simplifying financial reporting would be widely welcomed by the South African business sector.
“The GAA findings dovetail with our approach to the issue. Bear in mind that South Africa made a significant contribution to the factors governing the GAA conclusions. As ever, we fought well above our weight. We are proud of what we helped achieve.”
Note to Editors
The report Making financial reporting simpler and more useful is available at the GAA’s web site, http://www.globalaccountingalliance.com/
Source: SAICA
