IFRS not yet, but Big 4, trainers make merry

The fees don’t come more divergent: from free seminars and web-based orientation to Rs12 lakh per day.

The advent of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in India is 16 months away, but moolah is already at hand for accounting firms, trainers and consultants.
Not just the Big Four — KPMG, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young — but many others including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) have been conducting seminars and workshops across the country, targeting chief financial officers (CFOs), accountants, auditors and other finance and accounting staff of companies.

IFRS is either going to be adopted or converged with Indian generally accepted accounting principles.

The way profits are calculated under IFRS is very different from the currently followed Indian-GAAP.

KPMG offers advance certificate programme on implementation and compliance of IFRS, for which it charges Rs40,000-45,000 depending whether it is a weekday or weekend batch. DNA Money is in receipt of a mail on the programme. KPMG officials were unavailable for comment.

Deloitte has already started training companies, especially public sector firms.

“Serious sessions would cost Rs 2-10 lakh per day. For large organisations, we even tell them that we can train their trainers and they could cascade across the company,” said N Venkatram, IFRS country leader - India for Deloitte.

But for those looking to take the baby steps can begin with web-based training. “We have been offering free e-learning to millions of people through 37 modules put up on www.iasplus.com,” Venktatram said.

Ankur Aggarwal, chief executive officer at Piron Consulting, an IFRS trainer, said he charges companies that want basic overview training on IFRS Rs30,000-50,000 per day, while advanced sessions start from Rs82,000 per day. “Financial sector companies need a higher level of training because of their complexity. The fees vary because expertise required to train also varies,” Aggarwal said.

Despite the high costs, companies are keen to orient, staff and line. “Everybody is serious. People now realise that they will have to pay for it. Earlier they were not willing to pay,” said Venkatram. “Six months back, even CFOs were not inclined. Now, gradually, people a level below and at regional offices are also being called for training sessions, to spread awareness,” said Aggarwal.

There are also courses for those who do not want to spend big money and yet understand IFRS. Ameet Patel, partner at Sudit K Parekh & Co, a chartered accountant firm, said his company conducted a residential course at the Bombay Chamber of Accountants’ Society spanning two nights and three days.

“We demonstrated actual convergence through case studies. This was done for Rs7,300 per person, and the same would now be conducted in other places such as Rajkot etc,” Patel said.

“ICAI is also training chartered accountants for around Rs20,000 for 7-day sessions,” says Sunil Talati, who runs the chartered accountant firm Talati & Talati. However, some questions remain on whether spending so much on training — even as the Securities and Exchange Board of India is yet to come out with its guidelines on IFRS implementation and ICAI has not lent any clarity — is worthwhile.

Venkatram, however, refuses this saying basic clarity exists on key issues.

“There is clarity on the implementation date -April 1, 2011. Where there is none is whether it would be applicable to only big firms from this date or even others. In terms of training perspective, there is clarity. Even several public sector banks have started training staff. Larger companies know that they will have to comply from the start. India Inc has started working,” Venkatram said.

The purpose of the current training is a sort of warm-up session says Vandana Saxena Poria, CEO of a training provider Get-Through Guides.

“The purpose is to dispel myths on how difficult transition is, learn from experiences abroad and help companies understand how to build their own internal roadmap/ implementation planning. The key is planning and we aim to help kickstart the process,” she said.

Experts recommend that all-out, in-depth training for employees may not be the right thing to do.

“It is essential to have basic guidance seminars to ensure that the staff is aware of the new law. Understanding the basics will take time. One can have overview seminars, look at alerts and news reports to have the basic understanding,” Patel said.

Pricing, too, may be reduced in the later period Patel says, “Right now the supply is limited and demand is very high. Once many people get trained then the prices will come down,” he said.

Piron’s Aggarwal said pricing will have to change down the line. “It depends on how many companies are affected in Phase 1 and the number of trainers available.”

ICAI is expected to release the final roadmap on IFRS implementation soon, according to sources.

“The institute has finalised the roadmap. It should be out anytime now. The government has formed a group including two council members and a minister,” said a source close to the development.