IFRS Evaluation: Presentation of Results and Panel Discussion in Cooperation with BdB and BDI on December 9, 2024

On 9 December 2024, the Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (ASCG) exclusively presented the results of the survey of German companies of the study launched by the ASCG in 2023 to evaluate the application of IFRS in Germany. The event was co-hosted by the Association of German Banks (Bundesverband deutscher Banken, BdB) and the Federation of German Industries (Bundesverband der deutschen Industrie, BDI).

The event took place at the BDI, located in the Haus der Deutschen Wirtschaft in Berlin and was also broadcast via livestream. Representatives from politics, business and academia participated in the hybrid event.

Dr. Monika Wünnemann (BDI) and Michaela Zattler (BdB) opened the event. Prof. Dr. Sven Morich (ASCG Vice President) then presented the survey results, laying the foundations for the ensuing panel discussion with the following company and association representatives:

• Dr. Marco Ebel (Siemens AG)
• Stefanie Morfeld-Wahle (National Association of German Cooperative Banks; Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken e.V.),
• Dr. Stephan Rohleder (Zalando SE), and
• Andrea Schriber (Deutsche Bank AG)

The panelists first commented on the survey results. This was followed by a discussion of the different arguments, motives and perspectives on the possible introduction of an exempting option to apply IFRS in the separate financial statements (de lege ferenda).

The event concluded with an outlook on the next steps by the ASCG.

“First, I would like to thank everyone who participated in yesterday’s event. The questions from the audience as well as the stimulating discussion with our panelists created an entertaining evening. The presentation of the survey results marks a key milestone in our efforts to evaluate the application of IFRS in Germany. Transparency is crucial for identifying potential areas for action. As such, it is very important for us to present our results to the public.”, commented Prof. Dr. Sven Morich, ASCG Vice President on the panel discussion.

The video recording of the event will be available soon.

The ASCG will furthermore soon publish a summary report covering first empirical results of the survey conducted from March to October 2024 (further information will follow shortly).

Background:

The event concluded the ASCG’s public consultation of companies (phase 2 of the study). The ASCG began its efforts to evaluate the application of IFRS in Germany in 2023.

As further explained in the accompanying guideline for phase 1 (link, in German), the aim of the study is an objective assessment of different stakeholder perspectives regarding the application of IFRS in Germany. This comprises the motivation to use the IFRS and the associated challenges from a preparer’s perspective, as well as the user perspective and the conceptual interactions with the manifold purposes of financial reporting.

In a first step (phase 1), interviews were conducted with interested stakeholders from all areas (preparers and users of financial statements, auditors, academia). In light of the interviews, the ASCG developed and distributed a structured survey to collect further views from preparers of financial statements. The (online) survey was available from March 2024 (phase 2). One key aspect was to evaluate specific uses for a conditional exempting option for the application of IFRS in the separate financial statement for different company types and sizes. For this purpose, a stratified random sample of companies of all sizes was asked to participate in the survey. The ASCG furthermore invited the interested public to participate (as previously reported).