A number of Irish businesses are still not prepared for the introduction of new accounting standards at the beginning of next year, according to a newly-published survey.

The study has found that 61 per cent of companies that will be obliged to apply the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to their accounts from January 2005 are prepared for the introduction of the new standards in January.

However, 74 per cent of members in accountancy firms whose clients will be obliged to apply the new standards said that the companies were either well prepared or very well prepared.

Similarly, 79 per cent of respondents in business said that their companies had either held, or planned to hold, meetings with their auditors to discuss IFRS. And 77 per cent confirmed that their companies had assessed the impact of IFRS on their financial statements, or planned to in the near future.

Eighty-six per cent of accountancy firms said they were running, or intended to run, staff training programmes, while 83 per cent had held, or planned to hold, discussions with clients on its introduction.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) and Dublin City University (DCU) business school carried out the survey. Over 500 chartered accountants and students working in business and accountancy firms responded to the questionnaire. The findings are in the current edition of Accountancy Ireland magazine.

Commenting on the findings, ICAI President, Mr Terence O'Rourke, said there was considerable work to be done in advance of the introduction of IFRS in January.

"Such a delay may reflect the continued confusion and controversy surrounding IFRS at European level," he said.