Banks want the international version of IFRS

Radu Gheţea, chairman of the Romanian Banking Association, says the banking sector wants the international financial reporting system to be applied in its "international" form, not in a "Romanian version", with provisions being the bone of contention.
He says he is certain the implementation of IFRS, set for 2012, will be a marathon with a finishing straight sprint, which is very common in Romania.
The challenges of applying International Financial Reporting Standards were discussed yesterday at a seminar organised by Ziarul Financiar and KPMG, one of the biggest audit and consulting firms.
Elena Dumitraşcu of the regulatory department of the NBR (National Bank of Romania) said the shift to IFRS was a complex process.
Şerban Toader, senior partner at KPMG, in turn said IFRS are a new challenge for banks, with the application of these standards to bring many benefits to the Romanian banking system and help restore confidence. Mark Vaessen, Partner with KPMG Europe, Head of IFRS, warned that Romania had to prepare to move to IFRS, not do it at the last minute.