Turkish capital markets reach international standards, says official

Turkey's financial markets have reached international standards in terms of auditing and evaluation, according to Doğan Cansızlar, chairman of the Capital Markets Board (SPK).

The assessment came from an internal study, the results of which will be published in the Official Gazette and also forwarded to the Prime Ministry, Cansızlar told reporters in Ankara on Tuesday.

The need to adopt international standards for independent auditing of capital markets came to the agenda especially after a series of corporate scandals in the early 2000s, he said.

Investors also put a premium on transparent balance sheets, adding an incentive to adopt internationally accepted accounting standards, said Cansızlar.

The SPK chairman has devoted much of his duties to promoting corporate governance, often speaking at seminars on the topic and publishing information about it on his agency's Web site.

Turkey's capital markets regulation still needs some “fine tuning” to bring it in accord with all European Union norms, but that would be accomplished within two years at the latest, he said.

In light of Turkey's burgeoning housing finance market, with mortgage loans up 300 percent in the past year, the SPK is working to instill the necessary discipline in the mortgage system's inspection teams, said Cansızlar. “In establishing these international standards we have to find form a compromise between the value appraisals of municipal title deed offices and private realtors,” he said.

International standards apply to companies going public, too, and are an important assurance to investors, thus any firm planning an initial public offering must open its books to state auditors every three months, he said.

Real estate investment trusts and partnerships must undergo such a process once a year.

The SPK's booklet on internationally accepted accounting standards has 10 chapters and runs nearly 300 pages.