Banks await accounting rules switch
COMMERCIAL banks and financial institutions across the country are required to implement a new international financial reporting standard from the beginning of 2020, according to the National Accountancy Body (NAB).
Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, Commerce permanent-secretary and chairman of the NAB, said that the body agreed at a recent meeting on the schedule for the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standard 9 (IFRS 9). Those companies able to act sooner can adopt the new standard from the start of next year, Nuntawan said.
The Bank of Thailand is excluded from the IFRS 9 list, which runs into hundreds of organisations.
Now, a more detailed plan for IFRS 9 implementation is being prepared; it is to be forwarded to the NAB within one month.
The new accounting standard released by the International Accounting Standards Board addresses how to account for financial instruments, especially on how they are measured, with the aim of further increasing transparency in accountancy practices.
Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn, chairman of the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations (Fetco), said that Fetco unanimously approved a previous schedule for IFRS9 implementation in early 2019 for the enhancement of confidence and competitiveness, even though financial businesses and listed companies may be affected.
The federation decided on July 12 that the January 1, 2019, implementation date should not be missed otherwise it could erode confidence and competitiveness, and affect the evaluation of the overall supervision of Thai financial institutions.
"The (Fetco) meeting agreed that we should implement IFRS9 as planned as that will be most beneficial,” Paiboon said. “Several neighbouring countries have already implemented this financial accounting standard. Besides, the commercial banks which could be most hit are ready for it.”
Some impacts on capital market businesses that may arise from the IFRS9 could also be manageable, he said.
After discussions with the Thai Listed Companies Association and the Association of Thai Securities Companies, both are ready for the IFRS9, which focuses on risk management and provisions for credit losses, Paiboon said.
Fetco will work with related parties to find criteria or solutions to set a mid value of provisions for credit losses after a question on the details of provisions if several listed companies invest in the same debt instrument, he said.
Fetco also said some guidelines are not clear and that collaboration is needed to ensure they are set in the same direction. Examples of this include the lack of a specific standard in each issue, the calculation of provision for financial asset impairment, the determination of standards to measure fair values and the discretion to classify items in financial statements.
In regard to IFRS9, the guidelines for each industry should be defined for common standards and common accounting records, while easier practices should be set in the initial period and mutual understanding among auditors and supervisory units should be put on accounting records, along with the forms of financial statements and related systems, Paiboon said.
