A group of experts of the National Bank of Moldova is drafting the strategy for switching over to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) that will be submitted to the commercial banks by February 12. A tender contest will be announced in the middle of February to select a consultant. The implementation of the IFRSes will start in April and is to be completed by the end of the year. The information was made known by the central bank’s governor Dorin Dragutanu in a conference organized by KPMG Moldova for representatives of the banking sector, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the governor, the switchover to the IFRSes represents an important moment in adjusting the Moldovan financial framework to the European and international standards in the area. Within a pilot-project, the IFRSes will be implemented first at three banks of different sizes so as to highlight the problems that can appear in the process and identify solutions to them. Afterward, the process will be extended to cover the whole banking system. Dorin Dragutanu said the implementation of the IFRSes will benefit not only the central bank, which receives reports from 56 banks. The switchover from the National Accounting Standards to the International Financial Reporting Standards will allow simplifying the reporting system, will reduce the workload and will facilitate supervision by the National Bank. In Romania, the switchover to the IFRSes was panned for January 1, 2012. Angela Manolache, consultancy director of KPMG Romania, said that they are to assess the impact of the IFRSes on the banks’ profitability and the fiscal impact on the prudential indicators, in particular the solvability and banking capital sufficiency indicators. Asked by Info-Prim Neo to comment on the opinions expressed during the debate, Cezar Furtuna, partner of KPMG Romania and Moldova, said that the central bank and the commercial banks realize the necessity of implementing the IFRSes and there was drafted a plan of action in this respect. “The time is the main challenge. We can follow the agreed timetable and make the necessary changes meanwhile or we can do everything on the last 100 meters. The banks in Moldova already prepare reports on the basis of the international standards at yearend for the foreign partners and investors. It is important that this is made every month,” said Cezar Furtuna, adding KPMG is ready to provide consultancy in implementing the IFRSes to the banks that will want to. Moldinconbank president Svetlana Banari said it is impossible to obtain benefits without incurring costs. “The investments in the informational system, training of employees and modernization of certain sectors will enable us to negotiate with our partners from equal positions and obtain new credit lines, implement in concert mutually advantageous projects that would help Moldova make progress on the path to European integration,” she said. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. It has 140,000 outstanding professionals working together to deliver value in 146 countries worldwide. Each national KPMG firm is an independent legal entity and is a member of KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity registered in the Swiss Canton of Zug. In Romania and Moldova, KPMG operates six offices in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Iasi, Timisoara, and Chisinau. Currently, the company has over 600 employees and partners, both Romanians and foreigners.