You would think that by now everyone would be on top of IFRS, but it looks like the poor audit slaves in practice - those stuck in the actually quagmire of new figures earning the big fees for the partners - have had their lives horribly complicated by fair value accounting and what-not.

TS heard recently, on very good authority, that one beleagured Big Four prole openly said she hated IFRS because every time she phoned the firm's internal IFRS employee helpline, she seemed to get different answers. Those interpretations are complicated deary, but don't worry, TS has never really understood IFRS either.