6 workshops to discuss the expected Impact of IFRS Adoption on Saudi companies

Arising from the Kingdom's interest in adapting the regulatory environment consistent with the global trends given Vision 2030 and that the Kingdom is a member of the G20, all Saudi companies, except those listed in the Capital Market, have to apply International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from January 2018. Companies listed in the Capital Market adopted IFRS effective 1 January 2017. 

The new international standards, which came into practice at the beginning of 2017, obliged Capital Market listed companies to apply full IFRS. Entities of any size, as long as the entity does not have public accountability and publishes general purpose financial statements for external users, can elect to apply the International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) instead of applying the full IFRS. For those entities that qualify for IFRS for SMEs, an important decision needs to be made, to either follow the full IFRS or to apply the option of using IFRS for SMEs, which is a simplified, IFRS-based accounting framework.

KPMG Al Fozan & Partners will conduct six extensive workshops in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar between 2-10 May 2018. The workshops are to be presented by international and national experts and will be divided into two parts. The first part is to focus on the new IFRS standards (“Financial instruments” (IFRS 9), “Revenue” (IFRS 15) and “Leases” (IFRS 16) and the second part shall focus on strengthening the small and medium-sized entitiesknowledge about IFRS for SMEs. Both sessions will have a significant impact on most companies and across industries and the impact will not be limited just to the financial results, but will also impact entities’ financial KPIs and their systems and processes.

In this context, Mr. Khalil Al-Sedais, Managing Partner of the Riyadh Office, stressed the importance of advancing the level of awareness among Saudi companies about the latest developments and changes made to the IFRS and how they are practically applied. He pointed out that the adoption of the IFRS by the unlisted companies at the beginning of this year aimed to advance the level of trust in the quality of financial information about companiesperformance and to promote transparency and disclosure in financial reporting.

The six workshops are being held as part of KPMGs continued efforts to provide information to private sector companies on the latest developments in the fields of accounting and auditing and making them familiar with major changes and differences between both the international standards and the national standards.