IFRS in India: reasons in favour and against

IFRS would serve to enhance the comparability between financial statements of various companies across the globe. The industry would be able to raise capital from foreign markets at lower cost if they are able to create confidence in the minds of foreign investors that their financial statements comply with globally accepted accounting standards. It would provide professional opportunities to serve international clients and increase their mobility to work in different parts of the world. The major objectives of this study are to find out the key reasons for implementation of IFRS and reasons for resistance to IFRS in India. Therefore, a survey has been conducted by administering a structured questionnaire to a sample of 400 Chartered Accountants in India. The study concluded that the investment opportunities and comparability of financial statements are the major reasons for applying IFRS by corporate world and mandatory application of these new standards and uniform accounting systems are the least preferred major reasons for being positive in applying IFRS in India. The analysis of survey results has revealed that lack of knowledge of these new standards has turned out to be the major constraints in applying IFRS, even though the broad changes in accounting world are viewed as the least important reasons by sampled respondents for not applying IFRS in India.