Ernst & Young applauds the success of the IASB and announces the launch of International GAAP® 2008 book

London, Thursday 14 February 2008: The movement towards International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as the leading financial reporting framework for the global capital markets has gathered pace faster than most people expected, according to Ernst & Young.

Dr. Allister Wilson of Ernst & Young says the remarkable success of the adoption of IFRS in 2005 across Europe and in other countries around the world is due to a number of factors. In particular he cites the courage, vision, and commitment shown not only by the members of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), but also by national governments, securities’ regulators, corporations and the auditing profession.

As a result, Dr. Wilson says that the IASB has successfully overseen a seven-year process of globalization of accounting standards, where today IFRS is accepted as the global passport to capital-raising in the world’s capital markets.

While praising the success of the IASB, Dr. Wilson also stated, “The IASB’s undeniable success comes with considerable responsibility. The IASB’s status as an independent private sector body should be defended vigorously given the importance of IFRS in the global capital markets. Governance of the IASB should be enhanced to ensure its stability, funding and accountability.

“Ernst & Young fully supports the constitutional review by the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation planned for this year and encourages the Foundation to take on board the various concerns expressed by constituents,” says Dr. Wilson.

International GAAP® 2008 launched today

The widespread use of IFRS and the success of the IASB coincides with today’s launch of the latest edition of Ernst & Young’s authority on international financial reporting – International GAAP® 2008. Written by financial reporting professionals from Ernst & Young and published by John Wiley, International GAAP® 2008 provides a detailed, globally consistent interpretation of IFRS. The book – which is now published in two volumes – is not constrained by any individual country’s legislation or financial reporting regulations.

While the international standards themselves set out the requirements of international financial reporting, Dr. Wilson says that something rather more is needed to understand their practical application in the real world of financial reporting. That something is the detailed guidance and interpretation found in International GAAP® 2008, which explains the standards and puts them in a practical context.

Key facts about International GAAP® 2008

• Written by financial reporting professionals from the International Financial Reporting Group of Ernst & Young
• Completely revised, updated and expanded, with more than 800 pages added since the 2007 edition
• Deals with new and amended IASB pronouncements, including the new revised standards on Business Combinations and Consolidated Financial Statements
• Provides insight and guidance in detail on the interpretation and practical application of IFRS from a truly global perspective, based on the experience of the book’s authors in dealing with recent day-to-day practical issues
• Includes an entirely new chapter on accounting for the Extractive Industries (mining, oil and gas)
• Published in two volumes over 3,456 pages, comprising 39 Chapters, three indexes, and 90 pages of detailed contents.