The Reserve Bank of India, via notification no. RBI/2015- 16/315, DBR.BP.BC.No.76 /21.07.001/2015-16, dated February 11, 2016, had notified that scheduled commercial banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks) shall follow the Indian Accounting Standards as notified under the Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015 converged with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) from April 2018. RBI said that Ind AS shall be applicable to both standalone financial statements and consolidated financial statements. Banks shall not be permitted to adopt Ind AS earlier. RBI also advised Banks to take note of the Press Release dated January 18, 2016 issued by the MCA which states that notwithstanding the roadmap for companies, the holding, subsidiary, joint venture or associate companies of banks shall be required to prepare Ind AS based financial statements for accounting periods beginning from April 1, 2018 onwards, with comparatives for the periods ending March 31, 2018 and thereafter. (Comparatives shall mean comparative figures for the preceding accounting period.)
RBI also stated that Ind AS implementation is likely to significantly impact the financial reporting systems and processes and, as such, these changes need to be planned, managed, tested and executed in advance of the implementation date. Banks are advised to set up a Steering Committee headed by an official of the rank of an Executive Director (or equivalent) comprising members from cross-functional areas of the bank to immediately initiate the implementation process. Further, RBI pointed out certain additional responsibilities of the banks apart from stating critical issues which need to be factored in the Ind AS implementation.
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