Businessmen and women from across Hampshire came together yesterday (September 24) to find out about the most significant changes to UK financial reporting in recent years.
Business and financial adviser Grant Thornton held a special event to explain the changes to businesses from across the Solent region.
The introduction of FRS 102 will affect all businesses currently preparing accounts under UK GAAP. Grant Thornton warns that the effects will depend on individual circumstances, therefore it is important that businesses determine what the impact could be.
At Tuesday’s breakfast event, held at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, a team of experts from Grant Thornton’s Southampton office gave an overview of the major changes.
Partner Norman Armstrong, who hosted the event, said: “The new standard which will replace all existing FRS’s and SSAP’s will have an impact on financial reporting reporting including areas such as covenant compliance, profit based remuneration schemes and distributable profits. Although the introduction date may seem a long way off, the starting point for applying FRS 102 will be to restate the opening balance sheet at the beginning of the comparative period for the first accounts prepared under the new guidelines.
“The standard will take effect from the 1st of January 2015 and therefore for a December year end, the ‘transition date’ would be 1 January 2014 so it is vital that businesses understand and fully prepare for FRS 102 now.”
