Alexander Properties Contributed by Sara Wick Assistant Professor, University of Guelph On January 1, 2020, Alexander Properties (AP), a private enterprise, transitioned to IFRS from ASPE. Brian McPar- land, the company's Chief Financial Officer, was responsible for all financial reporting issues upon transition. As he read through the international standards, he often saw ASPE methods as an option for reporting under IFRS. In any instances where the ASPE method was still an option, he instructed the company's controller, Fran Bouchard, to take the strategy "if it isn't broken, don't fix it." It is now January 5, 2021, and the management team at AP is excited for some big expansion plans that are set to start this fiscal year and continue for the next five years. In order to finance the large expansion plan, management has decided to take the company public within the next couple of years. As such, there is a significant focus on maintaining a strong net income and key financial ratios such as return on equity and return on assets. When IFRS was adopted at the beginning of 2020, Brian did not see the benefit of recording the investment proper- ties at their fair value. At that time, the main user of the financial statements was the bank. The bank was not concerned with the fair values of the properties. As the company contemplates the upcoming IPO, Brian is starting to wonder if it would make more sense for the company to use fair value accounting to account for its investment properties. Founded in 1990, Alexander Properties is well known for owning and operating commercial real estate. The com- pany owns and operates several properties in large metropolitan areas including downtown Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. AP is headquartered in Toronto. Most recently, the company acquired two premium properties in New York City. Alexander Properties operates as a private company but decided to transition to IFRS from ASPE as it always viewed becoming a public company as a viable option for obtaining financing. Over the past five years, the company has experienced significant growth as a result of the purchase of seven new properties.