Statements of Banks Conform to IFRS

Iranian banks managed to present their balance sheets for the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2017) in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards, said the secretary-general of the Private Banks and Credit Institutions Association.

“Iran Audit Organization’s discrepancies with international standards posed a hurdle to implementing IFRS and Iranian banks needed to fully comply with the standards to resume their relations with international banks,” Mohammad Reza Jamshidi was also quoted as saying by IBENA.

Jamshidi cited the long duration of nuclear sanctions imposed on the banking system as the major reason for banks’ weak performance vis-à-vis the international banking system.

“Iranian banks did not prepare themselves for the post-sanctions era so they witnessed a great deal of setbacks but fortunately after the removal of sanctions, part of the problem was solved and the rest is unraveling,” he added.

The Central Bank of Iran has seriously pursued the complete implementation of IFRS and other international banking requirements such as Basel Accords.

IFRS are a single set of accounting standards, developed and maintained by the International Accounting Standards Board for application on a globally consistent basis by developed, emerging and developing economies.

These standards help provide investors and other users of financial statements with the ability to compare the financial performance of publicly listed companies on a like-for-like basis with their international peers.

After the lifting of sanctions imposed on Iran’s banking system, the necessity of conforming to IFRS was crucial to ease and speed up the process of absorbing foreign resources. IFRS standards are now mandated for use by more than 120 countries, including the European Union and by more than two-thirds of G20 states.