The global adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) continues to be an important and ongoing topic of discussion for the energy industry. IFRS can facilitate greater comparability of financial reporting for companies that are in the same industry but are domiciled in different countries. However, IFRS also presents some challenges for the power and utilities industry.

This issue of Plugged In - the KPMG Global Energy Institute's monitor of key issues in the power and utilities sector features a discussion by KPMG LLP's Jon Wierda and Molly Chilakapati of the implications of adoption for the power and utilities industry.

Wierda and Chilakapati discuss what U.S. adoption of IFRS would mean for utilities; the accounting issues for property, plant, and equipment (PPE); and what utilities should be doing in the meantime. They also examine the costs and benefits of starting now versus waiting; some lessons learned in the marketplace; and how a company can set itself up to do an effective assessment and conversion.