Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department had with the International Accounting Standards Board on the effect of conversion to IFRS accounting standards for financial services companies on leverage ratios for those companies.

Harriett Baldwin

In the UK, listed companies have been required to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) since 2005. Banks who are not required to use IFRS are able to choose between using IFRS or using UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

This Government has not had any discussions with the International Accounting Standards Board around the effect of companies being required to convert to IFRS, though continues to engage with that body and all others involved in setting standards for the financial services sector.