Managing the Transition to IFRS-Based Financial Reporting: A Practical Guide to Planning and Implementing a Transition to IFRS or National GAAP

8 THE TRANSITION TO NEW UK GAAP

In 2013, the UK's Financial Reporting Council (FRC) completed its project to revise financial reporting standards in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The revisions fundamentally changed the financial reporting regime, replacing almost all existing UK GAAP standards with three new Financial Reporting Standards, FRS 100, FRS 101 and FRS 102. At the same time, UK company law allows companies to follow IFRS if they wish to do so, and it is mandatory for the consolidated financial statements of listed entities to be prepared under EU-adopted IFRS.

The introduction of the new UK GAAP standards will prompt UK and Irish companies to make choices about which accounting standards they will follow going forwards. Those that do not yet follow IFRS may choose to do so; others will go through a period of transition to new UK GAAP. For the companies that move to IFRS, the preceding chapters in this book outline the main steps involved in planning and executing their transition. For companies moving to follow new UK GAAP these chapters are also useful, as most of the discussions about the transition project are equally applicable, especially because the new UK GAAP standards are largely converged with IFRS.

This chapter contains a summary of the new UK GAAP regime, relevant for readers in the UK and Ireland who are facing a transition to a new reporting framework, whether that is a transition to EU-adopted IFRS or new UK GAAP; and also covers some of the main ...