The International Language has Emerged-You Need Wiley IASAs the International Accounting Standards Committee makes progress towards widespread acceptance and use of its standards in practices, the need to understand the new standards increases. Wiley IAS 2003 provides the tools for understanding those standards and offers expertise on how to use and implement them.The new standard on accounting for agricultural operations, IAS 41, will be covered in detail. As finalized, this differs in some important regards from the exposure draft preceding it, and is the first comprehensive standard on this subject promulgated by any major accounting standard-setting body.The book also illustrates: * Important drafts on other specialized industries-such as insurance and extractive industries-which have been produced by the IASC. * SIC interpretations: new interpretive guidance that continues to be produced by the IASC's Standing Interpretations Committee, fully intergrated into the pertaining chapters. * Financial instruments: a comprehensive approach. The IASC is committed to develop a comprehensive, fair value-based, approach to accounting and financial reporting of financial assets and liabilities. As this project advances, the proposal and final standard(s) will be fully explained in this book. * Emerging markets: the IASC is also committed to developing a "simplified" approach to financial reporting, to be applicable to developing nations. As this is developed, it will be fully covered. Recent sanctioning of IAS by the European Commission, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the U.S. SEC, and the Canadian Securities Administrators will make 2003 a watershed year in the evolution of IAS as universal accounting standards.