OREANDA-NEWS. December 02, 2009. As it was informed in АССА, АССА (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), a global body for professional accountants, represented in Moldova by more than 20 members and about 140 students, calls on the authorities of the Republic of Moldova to ensure continuity of reforms in financial reporting field as provided by the laws in effect.

ACCA believes that transition to the International Financial Reporting Standards shall be treated as a reform of vital importance for the development of the country and a step towards European integration. ACCA addresses to professionals in accounting, audit and finance of the Republic of Moldova to actively support the Government in the implementation of this reform of strategic importance for Moldova. Moldova should start applying International Financial Reporting Standards in 2010.

Nonetheless, over the last period of time some appeals have appeared in the press to postpone transition to IFRS. ACCA believes that the Republic of Moldova has the necessary resources to implement the reform within the deadlines set in the Law on Accounting. There are a lot of professional accountants trained in IFRS application, including holders of international qualifications, as well as consulting companies and professional bodies which can contribute to overall success of the reform.

Moreover, the current economic slowdown offers good opportunities to public interest entities to benefit from better fees for consultancy and training services. Furthermore, a possibility to partially finance IFRS transition-related costs for domestic companies is currently under discussion. ACCA firmly believes that the banking sector, being of preeminent importance for any economic system, should be within the first entities interested in transition to IFRS, setting a best-practice-to-follow for other companies.

It is also very important for other public interest entities to make transition to IFRS on time, which would raise their investment attractiveness and open opportunities to benefit from low interest financing. International Financial Reporting Standards are a common language for global investors, a single system of uniform “traffic rules” for the investment capital which rather flows to regions where these common rules are applied.

Nowadays in more than 117 countries of the world IFRSs are required or permitted as an alternative to national standards. In 2002 the European Commission has adopted a Directive according to which all listed companies are required to apply IFRS for financial reporting starting from January 1, 2005. All our western neighbors, including Romania, apply International Financial Reporting Standards at least since 2005, considering this transition as an essential part of European integration process. Some experts estimate that the number of countries that will require the IFRS application on a compulsory basis or recommend the application of IFRS to local entities may reach 150 within the next couple of years. By postponing the reform Moldova risks to remain out of the bounds of these processes.