New accounting standards proposed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) will impose huge costs on Australian businesses if adopted, warns BDO Kendalls.
Wayne Basford, director and audit technical expert at BDO Kendalls said the new standard, which calls for companies to disclose their aggressive tax positions, could prove costly and time consuming for Australian businesses if adopted by the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB).
“ It (the new standard) is unnessesary and if implemented could hurt the economy at a time when businesses are seeking to control their costs to survive the economic downturn,” he said.
The new standard – Exposure Draft 178 – calls for companies to assume they will be subject to a tax audit by tax inspectors who will have full access to their tax workings.
Basford said the new standards would have serious implications for businesses, in particular small businesses, as most will not have the resources to comply with the requirements.
“This will be extremely costly and time consuming,” he said.
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