Preparation of the opening IFRS balance sheet may require the calculation or collection of information that was not previously required under US GAAP. Companies should plan their transition and identify the differences between IFRS and US GAAP early so that all of the information required can be collected and verified in a timely way. Likewise, companies should also identify differences between local regulatory requirements and IFRS. This could also impact the
amount of information-gathering necessary. For example, certain information required by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) but not by IFRS (e.g., a summary of historical data) can still be presented, in part, under US GAAP but must be clearly labeled as such, and the nature of the main adjustments to comply with IFRS must be discussed. Other incremental information required by a regulator may need to be presented in accordance with IFRS. The SEC currently envisions, for example, two years of comparative IFRS financial statements whereas IFRS would require only one.