CSA Will Require All Registrants To Use International Financial Reporting Standards

As we outlined in our September 2008 Alert entitled Impact of International Financial Reporting Standards on Canadian Registrants [available here], the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced their views last fall that many registrants would be required to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) under the Accounting Standards Board's (AcSB) definition of a publicly accountable enterprise. The CSA also indicated that they were considering whether securities rules should require registrants to prepare financial statements using IFRS, regardless of whether they meet the definition of a publicly accountable enterprise.

The CSA now have confirmed that staff have concluded that all non-SRO registrants should be required to use IFRS for financial years beginning on or after January 1, 2011 regardless of whether the registrant fits the definition of a publicly accountable enterprise set by the AcSB. CSA Staff Notice 33-314 International Financial