The data in Tables 2 and 3 highlight the variations in approaches to
IFRS implementation among EU and EEA member countries. For instance,
only four countries require, but twenty-five countries permit,
the use of IFRS for consolidated financial statements of private, nonfinancial
firms (Table 2, Panel B). Most member states, thus, allow
private firms to decide whether or not to follow IFRS for their group
accounts, effectively passing down the option to decide to the firm
level. This approach grants maximum flexibility to use IFRS instead of
domestic GAAP for private companies that for any reason prefer
market-oriented IFRS, for instance, in preparation for going public. For
the consolidated statements of private firms operating in the financial
sector, the picture is quite different. Many more countries limit choice
for financial firms: 14 countries require IFRS for financial firms
(Table 3, Panel B) compared to only four countries requiring IFRS for
non-financial firms (Table 2, Panel B). In about half of the EU and EEA
member countries, flexibility does not trump comparability when it
comes to financial firms, most likely because of a preference for fair
value accounting for financial firms.