TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/30/08 -- According to IR magazine's Investor Perception Study, Canada 2008, just 42 percent of buy-side analysts and portfolio managers are aware Canada is planning to convert to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in 2011. A slightly higher number (50 percent) of sell-side respondents are aware of the move.

Under the current timetable set by Canada's Accounting Standards Board (ASB), Canadian public companies may have to begin reporting as early as 2008 on their move from Canadian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to IFRS. The 2011 changeover will bring Canadian companies in line with accounting rules and practices currently in place in Europe, Australia and other regions. Among investors and analysts in the survey who know about the move to IFRS, just one in five has begun to prepare.

'Canada's companies and their investors can learn a lot from the experience of others, so the change should go a lot smoother than it did in Europe leading up to 2005,' says Neil Stewart, executive editor of IR magazine. 'But according to our survey results, they're falling behind. A big education effort is needed.'

The investor perception study, which is sponsored by The Globe and Mail, is based on an annual independent survey of more than 350 buy-side analysts, sell-side analysts, portfolio managers and retail investors. The research was carried out by Mary Maude Research with the assistance of Thomson Financial, Equicom, TSX Group and PrecisionIR Group.

The survey also asked respondents to vote for the Canadian companies with the best investor relations. The results will be announced at the annual IR Magazine Canada Awards, a black-tie gala dinner at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto on Thursday, February 7. More information can be obtained from the awards website at www.irmagazinecanada.com.

The IR Magazine Awards are based on the world's largest investor perception study. Each year, in more than 14 countries and regions, a total of around 5,000 analysts and investors are surveyed. For more information on the study, please contact Kate Giblin at the number listed at the bottom of this release.

The IR Magazine Canada Awards are presented in association with The Globe and Mail, and are co-sponsored by ACT Conferencing, Barnes McInerney, Bell Conferencing, Broadridge, Business Wire, CCR Solutions, Christensen, Churchill Pryce IR, CIBC Mellon, CIRI, CNQ, CNW Group, Computershare / Georgeson, InterCall Canada, Laurel Hill Advisory Group, Marketwire, NASDAQ, NYSE Euronext, PrecisionIR Group, RR Donnelley, Thomson Financial, Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, VALE and Valiant Trust Company.

About Cross Border Ltd and IR magazine

Cross Border Ltd is the publisher in New York and London of IR magazine, the only global publication focused on the interface between companies and their investors. IR magazine hosts annual awards ceremonies in the US, the UK, continental Europe, Canada, the Nordic region, Asia, Brazil and Ireland, with a combined annual attendance of around 8,000 investor relations professionals. Visit www.thecrossbordergroup.com for further details.

Contacts:
Cross Border Ltd
Kate Giblin
Webcomms manager
+44 20 7251 7520
Email: kate.giblin@thecrossbordergroup.com