'IFRS conversion is a change in primary GAAP'

IFRS calls for decisive shifts in strategic management

To the layperson, IFRS may sound like a cross between Indian foreign and revenue services, if not a flying rapid system. But to accountants, who are in the professional loop, the abbreviation stands for International Financial Reporting Standards, the global yardstick that will soon come into vogue, in the world of business numbers closer home. And, in pockets, the serious accountants are already at work, preparing the ground for the switchover.
To those who worry whether as a country we are focused in effectively dealing with the change, it should be comforting to hear that "we have made a good beginning," as opines Mr Kaushik Dutta, the leader of IFRS practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers. He draws our attention to the concept paper issued by the ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) which clarifies a lot of doubts and gives a clear roadmap towards IFRS convergence.

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'Acquirers are taking a much longer-term strategic view on investments'

`Current metal prices represent a return to sustainable price levels'

According to a recent report by Ernst & Young, 2007 was a record year for M&A (merger and acquisition) transactions in the metal and mining sector. The value of M&A in this sector reached $210.8 billion in 2007, which represents an increase of 444 per cent from $38.8 billion in 2000.
"High commodity prices, resource security, economies of scale, infrastructure sharing and rising demand from emerging economies are driving local as well as crossborder M&A activities," says Mr Manoj Bothra, Associate Vice-President, Ernst & Young, in an email interaction with Business Line. He feels the ferrous segment in India, like iron ore and steel, is very fragmented and ripe for consolidation.

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