Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signs Resolution No. 107 of February 25, 2011, approving the statute recognising the International Financial Reporting Standards and IFRS interpretations in Russia
The resolution endorses a statute recognising the International Financial Reporting Standards and their interpretations by the IFRS Foundation in Russia.
It establishes a two-stage procedure for introducing the standards in this country. In the first stage, the documents shall be analysed closely to see if they are applicable in Russia. The analysis shall be carried out by a non-government expert body representing the interests of a broad circle of accountants and groups of qualified professionals with IFRS expertise.
In the second stage, the federal executive bodies mentioned in the decree and the Bank of Russia shall make a coordinated decision based on the results of the analysis. Their decision will then be formalised in a Finance Ministry resolution, to be registered with the Justice Ministry as a regulatory act.
Recognition of the International Financial Reporting Standards in Russia does not necessarily mean that they will be introduced in Russian practice. Some of these standards may be judged inapplicable in Russia, in which case the Finance Ministry will issue a relevant resolution. This selective approach to the IFRS is common in the European Union.
The statute approved by Resolution No. 107 provides a mechanism for adding clauses to IFRS documents as required by special circumstances regarding their application in Russia. It provides for stage-by-stage application of the International Financial Reporting Standards in Russia, with the first stage being voluntary and the second compulsory.
For the full text of Resolution No. 107, go to the Russian government's official website at www.government.ru.
