Sneak peek into XPI's DisclosureNet

Publicly traded companies preparing for the upcoming overhaul from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) can obtain easy access to IFRS documents with an upcoming release of DisclosureNet.

DisclosureNet Version 5, scheduled for release by Toronto-based XPI Inc. in late November or early December, will feature an IFRS module that includes standards and documents companies can use to research best practices.

The IFRS module will include "the full and complete IFRS standards, which includes the standards themselves, the basis of conclusions and the interpretations," said XPI president and CEO Stephane Jasmin.

"As more companies in Canada start to file in IFRS, then those documents are going to be available for our customers," said Jasmin. The module will also include a full repository of filings from the U.K, which adopted IFRS in 2005.

By January 2011, all Canadian publicly traded companies will have to report using the global accounting standards. Conversion to IFRS remains optional for Canadian privately held companies.

Professional services firm KPMG LLP says the conversion should allow companies "easier access to international capital, funding and investment opportunities."

"Using IFRS should enable Canadian companies to increase their global reach, providing shareholders and regulators with financial information that has enhanced comparability and transparency," states KPMG's documentation on the transition to IFRS in Canada.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopersLLP (PwC), "the globalization of business and finance has lead to the need for a set of common, high-quality, and 'simplified' accounting standards."

IFRS has been adopted by over 100 countries and represents approximately 45 per cent of the world's capital markets, according to a PwC whitepaper on five key questions a CIO needs to ask about IFRS. "In fact, once Canada makes the transition, the United States will be the only G8 country not to have done so," states PwC.

"Although it may be easy to dismiss this looming transition as an issue solely for the accountants, the implications and ramifications of IFRS will hit home for everyone within a company, including the IT function," states PwC.

The average IFRS IT project, according to PwC, could take anywhere from a couple months up to two years. "Since IT systems support and enable the financial process, this could represent small-, medium or large-scale changes to not only the financial systems themselves, but also supporting interfaces and data," states PwC.

"One of the most significant challenges in converting from Canadian GAAP to IFRS is determining which GAAP differences will impact the organization," states a PwC whitepaper on the potential impact of IFRS on the Canadian technology sector.

XPI originally developed DisclosureNet in 2002 for accounting firms that needed to be able to access notes in financial statements, Jasmin explained. The solution has since grown to incorporate all security filings.