Considerations Regarding NBR Regulations on IFRS Implementation by the Romanian Banking System
Author:
Cristian ŞTEFAN, Mihaela MUŞAT
JEL:
M40, M41, M48
DOI:
Keywords:
credit institutions, National Bank of Romania, European directives, IFRS, International Monetary Fund, FINREP
Abstract:
2012 is the year when IFRS will be fully implemented by the Romanian banking system. For the time being the accounting rules in force applicable to credit institutions are those included in the Accounting regulations according to European directives, approved by NBR Order no.13/2008. Although these regulations transpose in the national legislation all the relevant EU Directives’ provisions applicable to individual financial statements, they also include treatments similar with those of the IFRS, applying to those situations for which specific provisions in European directives are lacking. Also for drawing up the consolidated financial statements, the Romanian credit institutions have to apply only IFRS.\r\nIt must be mentioned that the comprehensive implementation of IFRS by the banking sector is an objective set out in the Letter of Intent signed in Bucharest on the 5th of February 2010 and approved by the Decision of the International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board on the 19th of February 2010, whereby the National Bank of Romania and the Ministry of Public Finance commit themselves to adopt towards the end of the program’s time frame the necessary legal framework so as to achieve the comprehensive implementation of IFRS starting with the beginning of 2012.\r\nIFRS implementation is preceded by a transitional period (2009 - 2011) when the credit institutions have to prepare, apart from the individual financial statements in line with the national regulations (NBR Order no.13/2008), a separate set of individual IFRS financial statements, for information purposes only.\r\nIn July 2010, the NBR Order no.9 was issued establishing that starting with the 1st of January 2012 credit institutions will keep the accounting records and will prepare the annual (individual) financial statements according to IFRS as adopted following the procedure set out in the Regulation (EC) No.1606/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards. Therefore, credit institutions will organize and run the accounting in accordance with the IFRS’ provisions, the Accounting Law’s provisions and other applicable legal provisions, as well as with the regulations issued by the National Bank of Romania for the implementation of the abovementioned order.\r\n