IFRS will boost investors’ confidence: Mukherjee

KOCHI - The use of globally accepted accounting framework, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), will boost investors’ confidence in Indian markets, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday.

“India, as a member country of G20, is committed to achieving a single set of high quality global accounting standards. The use of globally acceptable accounting framework helps in promoting investors confidence and brings more clarity and uniformity for users of financial statements, said Mukherjee.

India targets to converge national accounting standards with the IFRS, and use it from the next fiscal (April 2011).

Mukherjee asked Indian firms to build strong supervisory frameworks in a bid to cope with any unforeseen challenges.

“As India gets more integrated with the global economy, we must have stronger disclosure standards in keeping with the international best practices,” he said, addressing the 42nd annual conference of southern India regional council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) here.

He said use of internationally accepted accounting frameworks would help Indian firms in their global ventures.

“Indian companies are increasingly accessing the global markets to meet their capital needs by listing their securities on the stock exchanges outside India. To be able to communicate and effectively engage with the world we need a common language that is understood by every market in the world,” he added.