Professionals in accounting and finance will face new challenges with IFRS

SANTO DOMINGO.- The frequent changes in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) represent a constant challenge for professionals in accounting and finance, therefore, Deloitte Dominican Republic will give this year a second training module on IFRS SMEs and Full IFRS , which will also include recent provisions that will come into force in 2018, but which already have impacts on the current year.

The IFRS SMEs are those accounting standards issued for small and medium-sized entities that are based on full or complete IFRSs and have been simplified for this type of entities. Full or complete IFRS are all accounting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and which companies worldwide can apply in the preparation and presentation of their financial statements , under the best international practices, in a standardized way and with greater transparency, which facilitates the analysis and the decision making.

Regarding this matter, Alvaro Castagneto, Lead Partner of Deloitte Dominican Republic Audit, explains: "We have realized that there is still a great need among accounting and finance professionals to know the scope of the constant changes that IFRSs experience. Recall that adjustments are increasingly frequent and the impacts they generate in the financial statements of companies are of such a magnitude that they can affect the decisions of the users of these financial statements. Having trained the accounting and financial staff of the companies, allows them to be able to anticipate the effects of such changes and prepare with sufficient time for proper implementation.

The IASB makes constant adjustments to IFRSs, in fact, the years 2018 and 2019 will be key for those companies that implement these international accounting standards, since in those years, provisions established in the so-called IFRS 9, IFRS 15 and IFRS 16 will be governed.

With respect to IFRS 9 "Financial Instruments", these changes change the way in which the impairment of the loans and receivables of companies, regardless of the type of economic activity, has been valued and recorded to date. This IFRS is applicable for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. Whereas IFRS 15 will involve changes in the principles of recognition of revenue generated from customer contracts. The application of this standard is also required for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018. Finally, IFRS 16 will be effective as of January 1, 2019. This standard will apply to all leases, including those of the right to use sub-leased assets, with certain exceptions.

In order to respond to the need for specialization in the field of business, Deloitte will conduct a second training-workshop to be held on Monday and Wednesday from October 23 to November 27 at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Santo Domingo, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. In September the Firm successfully delivered a first training module.

This next update on NIIF SMEs and Full IFRS will be carried out by Alvaro Castagneto, Lead Audit Partner and Aracelli Cardozo and Juan Carlos Espinoza, Audit Partners, all from Deloitte Dominican Republic.

Other topics that will be addressed in this training module are: presentation of Financial Statements, accounting policies and changes in accounting estimates and errors, inventories, intangible assets, taxes on profits, loan costs, investments in associates, effects of variations in exchange rates of foreign currency, among others.