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Change In Accounting Policies
Information about the Company's changes in accounting policies is included in Note 2 of the 2008 Annual Consolidated Financial Statements.
FUTURE ACCOUNTING POLICIES
INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS
The Canadian Accounting Standards Board confirmed in February 2008 that publicly accountable entities will be required to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for interim and annual financial statements on January 1, 2011. The Company, as an SEC Registrant, has the option to use U.S. GAAP instead of IFRS. During the fourth quarter 2008, the Company chose IFRS since it believes that IFRS will provide a more transparent and appropriate presentation of financial results, and it would avoid the cost of a second conversion when the United States converges with IFRS in or about 2014 as planned.
Enbridge has established an IFRS governance structure to monitor the progress of the transition. This group is comprised of senior management from finance, treasury, tax and the Company's business units among others. The Audit, Finance and Risk Committee of the Board of Directors receives regular reports on the advancement of the IFRS transition plan. In addition, the Company has trained internal IFRS team members and has hired a public accounting firm to assist with project management and technical accounting advice, as needed.
The Company has a multiyear transition plan which includes four phases – diagnostic, project planning, policy design and implementation. In 2008, the Company completed the diagnostic phase and has identified the relevant differences between Canadian GAAP and IFRS. The Company is in the policy design stage and is also assessing the impact of policy alternatives on its financial statements, systems, processes and controls. As the transition progresses, the Company will provide increased clarity into the anticipated consequences of accounting policy changes. The Company is in the process of developing a detailed project plan for 2009 and 2010 which will include staff communications, a training plan and an external stakeholders communication plan. Policy design will be completed in 2009 and implementation will begin during 2009 and be completed by the end of 2010.
Changes in accounting policies and processes and collection of additional information for disclosure will require modifications to the Company's information technology systems and processes as well as its system of internal controls. The identified information technology system alterations are being incorporated into the detailed project plan to allow time to modify and test the systems before implementation during 2010. The impact on internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures will be determined during the policy design and implementation phases.