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Financial Reporting Regulation: The Case of Converging Canadian and International Accounting and Auditing Standards/LA RÉGLEMENTATION DE L'INFORMATION FINANCIÈRE: LA CONVERGENCE DES NORMES CANADIENNES ET INTERNATIONALES DE COMPTABILITÉ ET DE VÉRIFICATION

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  • Kathryn Bewley

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper provides a descriptive analysis of the differences between existing Canadian accounting and auditing standards and the corresponding international standards that Canadian standard‐setters have decided to converge them with, at the time of the decisions to converge. The descriptive analysis is based on two reconciliation documents published by the standard‐setting boards of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. The main contributions of the paper are to outline and analyze the differences systematically in the context of prior research on financial reporting regulation and the impact of internationalization of accounting and auditing standards, and to identify key areas of difference that are likely to have the greatest impact on preparers, auditors, and users of Canadian financial statements. The results do not indicate that Canada is moving to a significantly more or less restrictive accounting measurement regime, but it appears that there will be greater disclosure detail required under international accounting standards than under existing Canadian standards. The key accounting difference relates to appraisal values for tangible and intangible assets that are permitted in international standards but not currently in their Canadian counterparts. The findings for auditing standards suggest that international and Canadian auditing standards impose a similar set of requirements on the audit function, and provide a similar degree of detailed application guidance. Differences in standards for the auditor's report and for management's written representations to the auditor are the most significant changes for audit practice in Canada. RÉSUMÉ L'auteure présente une analyse descriptive des éléments qui différencient les normes canadiennes de comptabilité et de vérification existantes et les normes internationales correspondantes vers lesquelles les normes canadiennes devraient converger, selon la position adoptée par les normalisateurs canadiens au moment de trancher la question. L'analyse descriptive se fonde sur deux documents de conciliation publiés par les conseils de normalisation de l'Institut Canadien des Comptables Agréés. Le principal apport de la présente étude est double: elle propose une description et une analyse systématiques des différences entre les normes dans le contexte des recherches précédentes sur la réglementation de l'information financière et l'incidence de l'internationalisation des normes de comptabilité et de vérification, et elle recense les principales sphères dans lesquelles les normes présentent des différences susceptibles d'avoir les conséquences les plus importantes pour les auteurs de l'information, les vérificateurs et les utilisateurs des états financiers canadiens. Selon les résultats de l'étude, le régime de mesure comptable vers lequel s'oriente le Canada ne présente pas un caractère qui serait plus ou moins restrictif, mais tout indique que les exigences en ce qui a trait au détail de l'information à fournir seront plus grandes sous le régime des normes comptables internationales que sous celui des normes canadiennes existantes. La principale différence relevée au chapitre de la comptabilité se rapporte aux valeurs d'expertise des actifs corporels et incorporels qui sont permises dans les normes internationales mais ne le sont pas dans les normes canadiennes actuelles. Quant à la vérification, il semble que les normes internationales et canadiennes imposent à la fonction de vérification un ensemble d'exigences similaires et contiennent des directives d'application d'une précision analogue. Les différences dans les normes relatives au rapport du vérificateur et aux déclarations écrites de la direction sont les changements les plus importants pour l'exercice de la vérification au Canada.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn Bewley, 2008. "Financial Reporting Regulation: The Case of Converging Canadian and International Accounting and Auditing Standards/LA RÉGLEMENTATION DE L'INFORMATION FINANCIÈRE: LA CONVERGENCE DES NORMES CANADIENNES," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(1), pages 9-39, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:accper:v:7:y:2008:i:1:p:9-39
    DOI: 10.1506/ap.7.1.2
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