(MENAFN - Arab Times) KPMG, one of the world's leading international firms offering professional services in audit, tax and advisory conducted its annual seminar for clients on International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS) on Dec 4 and 5, 2012. The theme of this year's seminar was "IFRS:
The past, the present and the future" and reflects the evolution of accounting standards over the past few years. The seminar on Dec 4, 2012 was held in Arabic which is the first of its kind to be held in Kuwait. IFRS are becoming increasingly important with a number of countries either adopting IFRS as the basis for their national accounting standards or incorporating IFRS into their existing national standards. KPMG plays an important role in helping a wide range of businesses respond to opportunities and challenges, improve their performance and increase their value.
The two-day seminar brought together around 120 professionals various sectors in Kuwait such as financial services, family businesses, Oil & Gas and government. The English seminar was presented by Yusuf Hassan, IFRS Technical Partner from KPMG's Department of Professional Practice (DPP) in UAE and supported by Bhavesh Gandhi, Audit Director based in Kuwait. The Arabic seminar was presented by Mohamed Aboubaker, Audit Senior Manager based in Saudi Arabia. At the seminar, Yusuf and Mohamed focused on the new standards issued and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)'s latest developments, including active projects.
In particular they focused on the recently issued standards: IFRS 10 'Consolidated Financial Statements' and IFRS 11 'Joint Arrangements'. Also, discussed were Exposure Drafts issued by the IASB dealing with revenue recognition and leases. In addition, Bhavesh covered IFRS 13, which defines fair value and sets out in a single IFRS the framework for measuring fair value and requires disclosures about fair value measurements. Lastly, the common financial statements issues and year end reminder were highlighted to the participants.
The seminar was interactive. Several participants shared their own experiences and challenges in this area and welcomed the suggestions made by others and the KPMG team. "This year's turnout is a clear reflection of the keenness of accounting community to keep abreast with the latest developments in the world of IFRS," said Safi Al-Mutawa, Senior Partner at KPMG in Kuwait. "Whilst 2012 has been relatively a quieter year in terms of new standards being effective, the IASB has issued a number of new important standards and Exposure Drafts which would be applicable in the coming years and would be of particular interest to the industry," said Dr Rasheed Al-Qenae, Managing Partner of KPMG in Kuwait.
