Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman of the IASB, to speak on 23 January 2012 at IFRS in Russia 2012, a conference organized by Ernst & Young and the IFRS Foundation

Moscow, 23 December 2011 – Once the Finance Ministry publishes the Russian text of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in December 2011, IFRS will be officially recognized in Russia. It means that all domestic credit institutions and insurance companies, along with a large number of Russian listed companies, will have to publish their IFRS consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2012.

Dmitry Weinstein, Ernst & Young's Partner and Head of the Financial Reporting in the CIS, says, "The adoption of the Federal Law on Consolidated Financial Reporting on 27 July 2010 in Russia marked the final stage in the IFRS recognition process. In the second half of 2010 and throughout 2011 we saw some major developments on this front: a handful of required bylaws were adopted by the Russian Government and the Finance Ministry, the expert review of the Russian translation of IFRS was completed, resulting in approval of 63 standards and interpretations for application in the Russian Federation. Having made IFRS part of its national legislation, Russia has now joined other IFRS adopters."

Given the high-profile nature of this event, the fifth annual IFRS conference, jointly organized by Ernst & Young and the IFRS Foundation, will focus on various IFRS application aspects through the lens of the Federal Law on Consolidated Financial Reporting. Conference participants will learn about IFRS application experience of major domestic and foreign companies and get first-hand information from regulators and IASB executives.

Among its speakers the conference features Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman of the IASB, Alan Teixera, Senior Director of Technical Activities of the IFRS Foundation, officials from the Russian Ministry of Finance and Bank of Russia, and Ernst & Young's leading experts.

"IFRS adoption is Russia has coincided with major changes in the IASB. Appointment of Hans Hoogervorst as chairman may bring with it a new focus in the Board's strategy and policy, along with new priorities in its business agenda. We are grateful to Mr Hoogervorst for having accepted our proposal to speak on IASB's strategy and future plans at the forthcoming conference and answer the questions that our participants may have", adds Dmitry Weinstein.

The conference will be held on 23 January 2012 in Moscow, in Lotte Hotel Moscow. Admission is free, with prior registration required on www.ey.com/RU/en/Issues/IFRS/IFRS---Conference-2012.

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