On September 30, IIROC published a notice setting out its position and providing guidance to its Dealer Members regarding the adoption of IFRS. As they are considered to be "publicly accountable enterprises", Dealer Members will also be subject to the Canadian Accounting Standards Board's decision to move from Canadian GAAP to IFRS as of January 1, 2011. This notice sets out IIROC's views on some of the transition issues raised by the move to IFRS for Dealer Members, including IIROC's decision not to permit early adoption prior to January 1, 2011. The notice also reminds Dealer Members that they are required to conduct their own firm-specific impact assessments and conversion planning (which may require the input of outside expertise), and that they will be required to submit progress reports on their conversion plans, with the first report to be due by April 1, 2009. While the conversion date is January 1, 2011, as set out in the notice, Dealer Members will need to start planning for and implementing necessary changes well prior to 2011, including running parallel IFRS-based accounting records for up to a year prior to conversion. Some of the critical and regulatory reporting dates are also set out in the notice.
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