IFRS vs. Canadian GAAP In-Depth
March 22 – 23: Edmonton (Shaw Conference Centre)
March 24 – 25: Calgary (CMA Executive Training Centre)

May 10 – 11: Edmonton (Union Bank Inn)
May 13 – 14: Calgary (CMA Executive Training Centre)

*all workshops run from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both days

IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) is coming to Canada. By 2011, all publicly accountable companies, public companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and crown corporations, will be required to report their financial results using IFRS instead of Canadian GAAP. These requirements include reporting a 2010 balance sheet (the opening balance sheet for 2011) under IFRS. Other enterprises, such as private enterprises or not-for-profit organizations, will not be required to use IFRS immediately but it is highly likely that many of these organizations will opt to switch to IFRS as well.

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Increase their confidence and state of readiness for dealing with IFRS
• Understand the similarities between IFRS and Canadian GAAP
• Understand the major differences between IFRS and Canadian GAAP
• Feel comfortable with the journal entries required under IFRS
• Know where to look for more information on IFRS as it becomes available

Workshop format

This workshop is highly interactive. Participants will learn the international financial reporting standards by working through exercises and examples which compare journal entries under Canadian GAAP to the journal entries under IFRS. This workshop will also present financial information from public companies which shows the impact on the financial statements of using different accounting standards.

Many IFRS workshops and conferences focus on high-level overviews. This workshop is different in that it goes into depth and provides participants with the information they need to understand the new standards.

Who should attend

Anyone working within the accounting field needs to be just as comfortable with IFRS as they are with Canadian GAAP. The objective of this seminar is to teach participants about the major differences between IFRS and Canadian GAAP. It is useful for anyone who wants to keep their skills current and has some familiarity with Canadian GAAP.

Key areas to be discussed

• Overview of IFRS
• Major differences between IFRS and Canadian GAAP
• Balance Sheet – key areas
    - assets
    - liabilities
    - equity
• Income Statement – key areas
•   - revenues
•   - expenses
•   - profit or loss that does not impact income statements
• Adoption of international financial reporting standards
    - general requirements
    - optional exemptions from adopting IFRS
    - mandatory exceptions to adopting IFRS
• Presentation format of financial statements under IFRS
• Current topics in IFRS
    - standards and projects which are in the process of changing
   - the status of US adoption of IFRS 

Cost

The cost for this two-day workshop is $825 plus GST.

Calgary cancellation policy:

• March workshop: On or before March 18 - registration less a $50 administration fee; no refund after March 18.
• May workshop: On or before May 7 - registration less a $50 administration fee; no refund after May 7.

Edmonton cancellation policy:

• March workshop: On or before March 16 - registration less a $50 administration fee; no refund after March 16.
• May workshop: On or before May 4 - registration less a $50 administration fee; no refund after May 4.

Register now
Register now for the Edmonton workshop on March 22 – 23
Register now for the Calgary workshop on March 24 – 25

Register now for the Edmonton workshop on May 10 – 11
Register now for the Calgary workshop on May 13 – 14