Leisurely Approach to IFRS Conversion Ill-Advised

Athough mandatory IFRS adoption is not proposed to take effect until 2014 for large public companies and 2016 for all public companies, a Deloitte white paper suggests that companies in the tourism, hospitality and leisure (THL) industryshould start planning their conversion to international standards now to avoid major distractions from their primary business activities.

The report, IFRS in Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure: More Than Just Accounting, notes that THL companies often have operations and assets in several countries and face a variety of rules and regulations, tax jurisdictions, and finance and accounting concerns.

Some critical issues the conversion will raise for THL companies include accounting for property, plant and equipment; impairment of long-lived assets and indefinite-lived assets; customer loyalty programs; leases; and membership fees.

Source: Deloitte, www.deloitte.com.