Need for Convergence Towards Global Standards

29/08/2022 0 By indiafreenotes

The convergence of accounting standards refers to the goal of establishing a single set of accounting standards that will be used internationally. Convergence in some form has been taking place for several decades, and efforts today include projects that aim to reduce the differences between accounting standards.

Convergence is driven by several factors, including the belief that having a single set of accounting requirements would increase the comparability of different entities’ accounting numbers, which will contribute to the flow of international investment and benefit a variety of stakeholders. Criticisms of convergence include its cost and pace, and the idea that the link between convergence and comparability may not be strong.

Need for Convergence

  • To make the financial statements reliable, comparable & transparent.
  • To ensure a general understanding of best accounting practices.
  • To standardize financial accounting & reporting across the globe.
  • To eliminate information barriers for users of financial statements.
  • To promote foreign Investment & spur Industrial growth.

Benefits of Convergence

Beneficial to Investors

Convergence is a boon for investors who wish to invest in foreign markets or economies. It makes it much easier for them to study and compare the financial statements of foreign companies. Since the financial statements are made using the same set of standards it is also easier for the investors to understand and analyze them.

Beneficial to the Economy

If the accounting standards are converged it will promote international business and increase the influx of capital into the country. This will help India’s economy grow and expand. International investing will also mean more capital for domestic companies as well.

Beneficial to the Industry

With globally accepted standards the industry can also surge ahead. So convergence is important for the industry as well. It will allow the industry to lower the cost of foreign capital. If companies are not burned by adopting two different sets of standards it will allow them easier entry into the market.

Cost Saving

Firstly it will exempt companies from maintaining separate accounting books according to separate standards. This will save a lot of work hours and money for the finance department. And also planning and executing auditing will also become easier.

It will be especially helpful for those companies that have subsidiaries in many countries. And the cost of capital will also reduce since capital would be more accessible and easily available.

More Transparency

Convergence will benefit the users of the financial statements as well. It will make it easier for them to understand the financial statements. And this will generate better transparency and raise the confidence of the investors to invest funds.

Challenges

Changes in Indian regulation: Current regulations governing the financial regulation would need a complete overhaul to implement the IFRS standards. The Companies Act 1956, SEBI act 1992, IT Act 1962 etc. will have to be amended to bring them in line with IFRS regulations. These legal hurdles is a major constraint in the path of IFRS convergence.

Training & Awareness: Many do not know the IFRS standards & lack of knowledge & awareness makes it a difficult task of implementation. Finance professionals will have to be adequately trained and then the standards can be implemented consistently and uniformly in right spirit.

Fair Value system of measurement: The IFRS considers the fair value system of asset measurement and the Indian GAAP recognizes historical system. This divergence of system would create volatility and subjectivity in financial statements. This would lead to different results for performance & earnings of the Company.

Small & Medium businesses: The SME sector in India is comparatively larger than other Countries. The cost of convergence far outweigh the advantages of convergence for these small businesses. The dearth of resource and skills in financial knowledge adds up to the problem of implementation in this sector. In addition, SME’s cannot be ignored, considering the role they play in the Indian economy.

IT systems: Financial accounting software and tools used for reporting would have to be completely changed resulting in substantial investment in IT infrastructure for Indian Companies. Indian companies are habitually reluctant when any proposal involves cost, time & effort.