Financial Skills: European Accounting - How it Differs from UK/IFRS

Course Overview

From 2005 onwards, EU listed companies are required to use IFRS for their consolidated financial statements. However, in most of Europe, this development has not affected the financial reporting of individual companies, such as the continental subsidiaries of UK or US multinational groups. This course examines the rules and practices of financial reporting by individual companies, concentrating on Germany and France but also referring to Italy and Spain. The course is designed to suit preparers, auditors or users of the financial statements of continental European companies. The users include those who consolidate these continental statements into UK or US group statements.

Course Outline

• Factors affecting accounting differences in Europe
• Financing of companies
• Tax systems
• Legal systems
• Accounting topics affected by tax rules or motives
• Commercial codes, accounting plans and other legal sources of rules
• Rules for presentation, audit and publication of financial statements
• Accounting for tangible and intangible assets -valuation, depreciation, impairment
• Lease accounting
• Inventories and contracts
• Financial assets
• Foreign currency debtors and creditors
• Liabilities
• Pensions
• Provisions
• Deferred tax
• Summaries of rules in France, Germany, Italy and Spain
• Summaries of differences from US and IFRS rules

Financial Skills: European Accounting - How it Differs from UK/IFRS / CM9452