McCain Foods Limited is a large multinational private company generating in excess of $6 billion in sales. It produces both frozen and non-frozen food products and makes one-third of the frozen French fries produced worldwide. It has manufacturing operations on six continents, sales operations in over 160 countries, and employs more than 20,000 people.

Most private companies choose to use ASPE. However, some private companies like McCain have adopted IFRS.

Because the company is so large, it treats itself for reporting purposes like a public company.

Instructions

(a) McCain has numerous subsidiaries located throughout the globe. How would this type of multinational structure motivate McCain to choose IFRS?

(b) Why would users of McCain's financial statements want them prepared using IFRS? Try to relate the users' needs to the four qualitative characteristics of accounting information: relevance, faithful representation, comparability, and understandability.

(c) It is oft en assumed that only large private companies would choose to adopt IFRS and small companies would avoid IFRS. Why do you think that is? Can you think of reasons why a small private company would want to adopt IFRS?