İzel Levi Coşkun, the CEO of the financial advisory services firm Mazars Denge remarked that although there are still discussions taking place around the new Turkish Commercial Code TTK it is time to make preparations, considering the fact that the date the law will enter into force is very close. He continued “It is possible to criticise some of the articles of the new TCC but we need this law. What is wrong with it? The imprisonment penalties… The requirement to have the names and other information about all board members might be unnecessary. The companies are worried, thinking that “If we publish our financial statements on our website where will that position us in relation to the competition? Won’t the customers give me a hard time?” Coşkun says “Game Theory was discovered before John Nash. But it was Nash who presented it as a theory. He received the Nobel Prize in 1991. I think that is when people understood him. It is an approach that takes into account and maximises the share of not only one’s own stake but also of all the stakeholders involved. It is not right to say ‘It’s my company. I do whatever I want with it’. This is something that the new TCC is introducing. The old law was also very important but its time is now over. This is a new era. It closes the shareholders’ current account because this is the source of all informality.”

İzel Levi Coşkun stated that the fact that lawyers are not showing much interest in the discussions is a problem, adding that and “Only Prof. Dr. Ünal Tekinalp, who prepared the law, and the companies are having discussions. Companies like us are discussing but it is actually the lawyers who should be taking part in those discussions. This is what has caused the deadlock. One idea would be to organise an exploratory conference with the participation of all parties concerned. This would allow the identification and resolution of any challenges that might arise in practice. It is possible that there will be problems in practice because there has not been sufficient preparation. It is not accurate to say that the audit firms are supporting the new TCC because they are going to benefit from it. It is the lawyers who must take a greater part in the discussions, not us. Another striking point is that foreign law firms are increasingly paying attention to the new law. The TCC is of particular concern to law. They are of the opinion that there will be large legal loopholes.

Denge Academy Has Prepared a Package
Coşkun explains that it is likely that there will be unfavourable competition among advisory, audit and public accountant companies in the new period. He continued, “In the rotation period a price competition arose. Everyone wanted to maintain their customers. The pie will grow, but entering into a competition will result in damage.”

Coşkun said that Mazars emphasises not only TCC training but also accounting training with regard to the preparation efforts for the new period. He said that they have prepared different packages for this purpose. Coşkun remarked:

“We are in the process of making some preparations. There are no accountants with an appropriate IFRS background to help the companies in this field. TÜRMOB organised training programmes. A training team of 300 – 400 people was formed. It may be said that access was made possible in Istanbul to a certain extent but what is going to happen in Erzincan? In Erzurum? We made arrangements to that end. The whole accounting system is going to change. It is very important for the companies and the accounting world to be ready for IFRS / TFRS. In accordance with the new TCC, all companies that keep their books on a balance sheet basis will be required to prepare their financial statements in compliance with IFRS / TFRS as of January 1, 2013. Companies will prepare their December 31, 2012 closing financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Tax Procedure Law for the last time and on January 1, 2013 their opening financial tables will have to be re-arranged in accordance with IFRS / TFRS.

In addition, as of January 1, 2013 accounting records will be kept in accordance with IFRS / TFRS. This is where accounting training becomes important. IFRS stands for International Financial Reporting Standards. These standards aim to facilitate a comparison between financial statements through drawing accounting standards closer together throughout the world. TFRS (Turkish Financial Reporting Standards) is a translation of IFRS. The companies that satisfy the SME criteria to be set by secondary regulations (which, according to approximate data, represent 94% of all companies) will be obliged to apply SME TFRS as part of the new Turkish Commercial Code.

Companies will switch to an internationally accepted, active reporting system with TFRS. The hands-on SME TFRS Training Programme has been prepared by Denge Academy’s Experts using e-learning methodologies. Each participant will receive 60 hours of training, just like in private classes. The participants will be able to attend the training programme anytime they want and from anywhere they have access to a computer. The training programme consists of the re-arrangement of the TPL-compliant (Tax Procedure Law) financial statements of an imaginary company in accordance with the SME TFRS. This programme will benefit company directors, budget reporting and treasury department heads as well as employees and other medium and senior level managers who want to be informed about the topics concerned along with business owners and professionals (independent financial consultants, CPAs and lawyers in particular).

Email: icoskun@mazarsdenge.com.tr
Website: www.mazarsdenge.com.tr