Business & Money | Sunday 3 May, 2015 12:57 am |

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) completed the final element of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments in July 2014 and the new Standard will come into effect on 1st of January 2018 with early application permitted.

With the effective date of IFRS 9 approaching, KPMG Saudi Arabiais hosting a breakfast session to consider impacts of IFRS 9 on Saudi banks in particular and the financial sector in general. The session will be conducted by Mr. Venkataramanan, a KPMG Partner who has an in-depth knowledge and practical experience of IFRS 9 implementation. Venkat is the subject matter expert dealing with financial instruments related issues and will be sharing his inspiring insights on the standard with the participants.

Mr. Khalil Al Sedais, Partner and Head of Audit – KPMG Saudi Arabia, explained that this session is being hosted to address a complicated accounting standard impacting the banking and investment companies. This session aims to provide a platform to the senior management of the banking sector to consider adopting constructive strategies capitalising on the experience of and lessons learnt by banks outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It will also provide opportunity to discussthe practical aspects of IFRS 9 withspecific emphasis on credit impairment. This will be an interactive forum allowing the participants to share their views and feedback on the standrad. The session will be followed by a question and answer session where participants will have opporunity to clarify their specific concerns.

Khalil further emphasised that serving the business community is one of the key focus areas for KPMG in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we aim to add value through sharing knowledge and insights. This event is part of our overall strategic initiatives and we aim to make further similar contributions to business communities locally across industries in future.