Barclays Bank of Kenya to  host media workshop on IFRS 9

Barclays Bank of Kenya (BBK) will host a media workshop on the new global accounting standard – International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 9)

The IFRS 9 will be made compulsory for all financial institutions licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) by January 2018.

With its adoption, the new accounting standards will bring in more discipline in preparing their financial statements after taking into account three risks – market risk, credit risk and liquidity risk.

According to BBK, “Research into the coverage of IFRS 9 reveals a cosmetic approach with most reporters regurgitating what has been captured in press releases. Little, it seems has been done in the way of explaining the new rules and their potential impact on the industry to the media.”

“This is why we want to take up this opportunity to fill this void in order to ensure quality reporting in the lead up to the implementation of the new rules and indeed, during and after implementation,” reads part of the workshop’s concept note.

Currently, the Barclays Africa Group Limited (BAGL) has been implementing these new accounting standards for the last two years, thus providing them with a wealth of experience ‘that we have been tapping into as we analyse the potential impact of the IFRS 9 rules on our numbers and strategy’ says BBK.

Industry experts from the Institute of Certified Public Accountants(ICPAK), Kenya Bankers Association(KBA), Capital Markets Authority(CMA) and the Nairobi Stock Exchange(NSE) will take part in a panel discussion that will touch on:

How the new rules will be treated from an accounting perspective and how they will be implemented from a regulatory perspective and the potential impact the new rules are likely to have on businesses and particularly the banking sector with a particular interest on impact on numbers and business models.