New research has shown that many corporate treasurers areuncertain about the relevance and implications of new globalaccounting standards to their treasury operations.

According to the research, undertaken by IT2 Treasury Solutions,a leading provider of treasury management software to corporatetreasuries and financial institutions, just 52% of the respondingcorporate treasurers reported that they were aware of the contentand impact of impending changes in IFRS. In Europe, IFRS 9, thestandard for classifying and measuring financial instruments whichwas released in November 2009, will apply to accounting periodsbeginning on or after 1 January 2013.

Kevin Grant, CEO of IT2 Treasury Solutions, said: “In less thantwo years, corporate treasurers will have to respond to the onerousfinancial reporting requirements of IFRS 9. Within one year, thewindow of opportunity to take the benefits of early adoption willclose. IFRS 9 may still be a work in progress, but its scope andadoption timetable strongly suggest that treasurers should beactively evaluating the requirements of compliance.”

IT2's clients are already reporting that the calculation anddata retention requirements for IFRS 9 compliance are demanding.Treasurers should be evaluating the costs and benefits related tothe timing of their adoption – in the knowledge that they mustadopt within two years, assuming that the present timetable ispreserved. Early adopters of IRFS 9 will enjoy the benefit of nothaving to restate their accounting results retrospectively.

The benefits of early adoption are endorsed by IT2's client,Wilh. Wilhelmsen, a global maritime industry group. P?l JohanAronsen, Head of MBO & CM, Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA, said: “In myopinion, the time to start working with the new regulatoryrequirements is now. Early preparation means that the necessaryhistoric data needed for full compliance in January 2013 will beavailable. Companies that are not currently trying to understandand manage the impact of IFRS 9 will be confronted with apotentially substantial catch-up exercise sometime during the nexttwo years.”

Sebastian di Paola, Partner at PwC, commented: “In December theIASB released its Exposure Draft on hedge accounting. This is theone treasurers have been waiting for and it contains some prettygood news, notably for commodity hedgers and in terms ofsimplifications to the effectiveness testing and hedge designationrequirements. There are also proposals in there to help treasurycentre FX hedgers. There are a few areas though where treasurerswill want to see changes to the proposals, so now is the time toget active in commenting to the IASB. The deadline for commentletters is 9 March, so it's time to start putting pen topaper:”

Kevin Grant concludes: 'I certainly expect the level of IFRS 9awareness and preparedness for IFRS 9 to increase substantially inthe coming months, as greater clarity about the final standardemerges. The IFRS 9 clock is ticking, and those who are puttingtheir plans into action will gain tangible benefits, and avoid thecosts and complexities of playing catch-up later on.'

About IT2 Treasury Solutions Inc.
IT2Treasury Solutions is a leading provider of treasury managementsoftware to corporate treasuries and financial institutions. TheIT2 system is a fully integrated best practice solution thatsupports treasury in its entirety, fulfilling cash, debt andinvestment, financial risk, treasury accounting and hedgeaccounting requirements. Founded in 1982, the company is located inNew York, London and Hong Kong and serves over 230 customersworldwide, including Abbott Laboratories, A. Schulman, ChiquitaBrands, Hyatt, Hysan Development Co., GSK plc, Marriott, PirelliInternational, Tyco International, Volkswagen International Financeand Volvo Financial Services.