Implementation of global IFRS in the national accounting regulations, with special reference to Macedonia

The process of adoption of IFRS is required by national accounting regulation of the countries, in order to harmonize the financial reporting standards and presentation of financial statements for external use. Conversation from national to IFRS has represented much more than a change in accounting rules and companies main concern is to understand the extent to which accounting differences between national standards and International financial reporting standards could affect their reported performance. Their adoption represents an essential element to obtain an integrated, competitive and attractive European capital market, and also a base for preparation of consolidated financial statements of global multinational companies. The transition to IFRS has meant fundamental changes for many European companies. IFRS conversion has not been viewed simply as an accounting exercise, but as a change in national accounting standards and in whole basis of financial reporting. IFRS information has affected the perception of firm’s business performance, and firms have been enabled to produce financial statements that allow them to adopt a global financial reporting language as well as to be evaluated in a global marketplace. Communicating in one language to stakeholders enhances confidence in the business and improves finance-raising capabilities. IFRS allows companies to benchmark themselves against theirs peers, and allows investors to compare firm performance with competitors globally. As Macedonia has a written law tradition, the compliance with all IAS enacted after 1999 and all post-1999 amendments to existing IAS was not effectively enforced in practice. The new Trade Company Law was enacted in April 2004, replacing the 1996 Law. The new Law states that the eligible companies, including large, medium sized, banking and insurance trading companies as well as companies listed on the Stock Exchange, should prepare their financial statements in accordance with the IAS, published in Official Gazette. Key words: IFRS, implementation, national, conversion, regulation, Macedoni