Just 22% of India Inc have plan for new accounting norms: Survey

Grant Thortan survey reveals just 13% have initiated impact assessment process of new standards

Only 22% of Indian businesses have an operational plan for transition to new accounting norms, a new survey said. Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has announced implementation of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) in a phased manner starting April 2106.

According to the survey by Grant Thortan, just 13% have initiated the impact assessment process of the new standards.

The survey showed that 65% of the respondents strongly believe Ind AS will open up avenues for accessing capital in international markets, a majority of them do not consider voluntary adoption a feasible option with only 36% of the respondents expressing their intent to do so.

"The much-awaited announcement of the roadmap on Ind AS implementation has been welcomed by India Inc. Our survey shows that a majority of dynamic Indian businesses believe that the adoption of Ind AS will go a long way in enhancing the credibility and comparability of their financial statements with their global counterparts and open new doors to access capital for growth," says Nabeel Ahmed, Partner, Grant Thornton India LLP.
 
When asked about the challenges in the implementation of Ind AS, most of the respondents (61%) believe that the process of transition to Ind AS shall be completed within a year’s time. However, 84% of the respondents also think that the cost of transition is sizeable.

Ironically, not many have factored in such costs in their budgets (86%). Further, a majority of the respondents (52%) consider lack of knowledge of their financial reporting staff as a significant bottleneck in implementation of the new accounting standards.