Indian Accounting Standards - Implementation and comparison with IFRS

Over the last decade, India's national accounting system has been aligned with IFRS. Today IFRS is considered to be the predominant global set of accounting standards. IGAAP is rightly criticized. Mostly for avoiding the principle of substance over form. The first signs of a convergence have been uttered in July 2007. The date when Indian Accounting standards Ind AS should come into force was postponed several times. The current plan suggested that in the first phase a given group of companies should adopt Ind AS since the accounting period beginning on or after 1st April 2016, with a comparable period ending 31st March 2016 or later. This thesis describes implementation process, analyzes differences between Ind AS and IFRS and examines financial statements based on Ind AS. Standards created by Indian bodies are different from IFRS. The differences between Ind AS and IFRS can be divided into either avoidable or textual, however in some areas these differences are more complex. Despite many challenges and additional implementation costs, the Indian environment is likely to benefit from the convergence of local accounting with IFRS. The global accounting system leads to improved allocation of capital, reduction in capital costs and in general to better information and hence it contributes to making better investment decisions.