Since the mid 90s there has been debate within accounting circles on whether there should be two versions of GAAP – one for public companies and one for private companies. Big GAAP and little GAAP. The logic is that there are sections of GAAP that do not apply to non publicly accountable entities, and time [...]

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The CICA announced late last year a draft version of a new accounting framework for small, owner-managed businesses. The framework is being developed because these types of companies don’t have complex reporting needs like public companies, non-profit organizations, or private companies with significant third party investors or creditors. I haven’t begun working on public company [...]

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The Accounting Standards Board of Canada has confirmed recently the changeover date to IFRS for publicly accountable for-profit organizations, set for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2011. The announcement is available in PDF format. It sounds like we’re going to have to know and be able to apply two sets of principles, as [...]

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A while ago I received an email informing me of a newsletter available for Canadian accounting professionals detailing the transition from Canadian GAAP to international standards, IFRS. The newsletter is provided by The Finance Group, headed up by Gordon Heard, CA, and all three issues to date are available for download (in PDF format). The [...]

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Al Rosen, in the second of a three part series in the Financial Post about the transition from Canadian GAAP to IFRS: IFRS is too weak in its current form for investors to accept on par with current Canadian standards. Nonetheless, we are on course to implement IFRS in just three years. He quotes and [...]

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