The Union Bank Plc has disclosed its preparedness for the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) ahead of the 2012 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Mr Adekunle Adeosun, Executive Director, Commercial Banking, South, said this at a workshop in Lagos on the nitty-gritty of the global financial reporting format, facilitated by some international financial experts.

Adeosun said that the bank needed to expose its directors, top management and staff to this intensive workshop to get it ready for the IFRS, stressing that participants were also drawn from finance and planning.

He said the idea behind IFRS was to develop a single set of high quality, understandable and enforceable global accounting standards that would require high quality and transparent system.

Adeosun added that the participant would be able to compare information and financial statement to help in various capital markets of the world and others

He said that participants were drawn from different relevant disciplines, to understand, appreciate and cross fertilise ideas on issues bordering on IFRS.

Adeosun said that transparent and comparable information and financial statements would help participants in various capital markets of the world and other users of information to make economic decisions.

He said the IFRS Board was determined to promote the use and rigorous application of the standards, work actively with national standards setters to bring about convergence of national accounting standards.

Adeosun said the Accounting standard emphasised that once any nation adopt the standards, it would become easier for investors worldwide to invest in the country due to similar financial reporting language.

He said that it was significant to note that Union Bank was getting ready to adopt the IFRS, in spite of its challenges.

Adeosun said this was in line with the apex bank’s directive in 2009, when it issued guidelines aimed at enhancing transparency by banks and discount houses.