K-beauty, biotech, K-food and more: industry expertise on display

187 companies, 350-plus attendees gather ahead of IFRS 18 rollout next year

Kang Chan-hwi, a partner at Samil PwC, presents on the IT platform industry at an industry-specific accounting and tax seminar co-hosted by Samil PwC and the Korea Exchange's Small and Medium Enterprise Accounting Support Center on Friday. [Provided by Samil PwC]
Kang Chan-hwi, a partner at Samil PwC, presents on the IT platform industry at an industry-specific accounting and tax seminar co-hosted by Samil PwC and the Korea Exchange's Small and Medium Enterprise Accounting Support Center on Friday. [Provided by Samil PwC]

Samil PwC announced Monday that it co-hosted an industry-specific accounting and tax seminar with the Korea Exchange's Small and Medium Enterprise Accounting Support Center at the Korea Exchange's Market Square in Yeouido, Seoul, on Thursday and Friday.

The seminar covered content tailored to five industries: K-beauty, biotech, K-food, retail and IT platforms. It marked the first time Samil PwC has conducted industry-specific accounting and tax education in partnership with the Korea Exchange.

The event grew out of an IT platform-focused seminar the firm first held in October last year, which drew strong interest and prompted an expansion to five industries. Over the two days, more than 350 executives and employees from 187 companies attended.

A central topic was the industry-by-industry impact of K-IFRS 1118 (IFRS 18), "Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements," which takes effect next year. Sessions examined from a practical standpoint how the standard's changes would play out differently across industries — including a restructuring of the income statement into three categories (operating, investing and financing) and a new mandatory disclosure requirement for management-defined performance measures.

Industry-specific topics were also addressed. The K-beauty session focused on transfer pricing and tariff optimization as overseas expansion accelerates, while the biotech session covered key considerations in management accounting and valuation. The K-food session discussed revenue recognition issues common in the food and beverage industry, including variable consideration, principal-versus-agent judgments and points accounting.

The retail session addressed impairment and lease accounting practices, and the IT platform session examined major accounting issues including revenue recognition for AI-related businesses. The K-food, retail and IT platform sessions also featured case studies on using AI to improve accounting efficiency, and all five sessions covered key tax issues and response strategies common across industries.

"Because every industry has a different business structure, the same accounting standard can present entirely different challenges in practice," said Seo Yong-beom, Samil PwC's biotech industry leader and partner. "In step with the changes brought by IFRS 18 and the spread of AI, we will work with the Korea Exchange's Small and Medium Enterprise Accounting Support Center to develop industry-specific education into a regular program."

Samil PwC said it responds swiftly to accounting and tax issues in each sector through an industry specialization strategy built around dedicated expert teams, and plans to continue expanding its industry-specific accounting and tax guidebook publications and tailored education offerings.

In a related initiative, the firm held a seminar on "Sustainability Disclosure Response Strategies for Financial Companies" on July 28, targeting officials from financial holding companies, banks, insurers and securities firms.

Beyond industry-specific education, Samil PwC is also supporting regional financial and accounting capacity building. Together with the Korea Exchange's Small and Medium Enterprise Accounting Support Center, the firm will launch a traveling regional financial and accounting seminar series starting at the end of this month. The series is scheduled to visit Busan on Monday, followed by Daegu on Sept. 1, Daejeon on Sept. 2, Gwangju on Sept. 7, Incheon on Sept. 10, Pangyo on Sept. 14 and Seoul on Sept. 16.


arete@heraldcorp.com