Accounting for mining activities presents many difficulties.
Significant upfront investment, uncertainty over prospects and long project lives have led to a variety of approaches being developed by companies, and a range of country-specific guidance for
the industry.
Many countries have required IFRS reporting for some companies since 2005 and companies around the world continue to adopt IFRS. Japan has already permitted the early adoption of IFRS by listed companies and is expected to announce a final decision
on whether to mandate adoption later in 2012. The US is yet to announce its plan as to how IFRS might be incorporated into the financial reporting requirements for US domestic issuers. This means that there are many companies for whom IFRS conversion issues are, or will become, relevant.
As countries adopt a single set of high quality, global accounting and financial reporting standards there should
be greater global consistency and transparency. However, it is recognised that extractive activities is an area in which there is little IFRS guidance. There is also variation in practice between companies applying IFRS, which was highlighted in KPMG’s survey The Application of IFRS: Mining published in September 2009.