The US Securities and Exchange Commission has formed a committee to revise complex accounting rules.

The committee, sponsored by the SEC, is set to focus on reducing the complexity of financial reporting in the US.

During his announcement of the plans at a press conference yesterday, SEC chairman Christopher Cox also said that there could be overlap between the committee's work and the study into dominance of the Big Four, announced earlier by US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson.

Financial Accounting Standards Board chairman, Robert Herz, welcomed the push for simplification of current rules which he described as 'overly complex.'

The committee is to look into issues that include forward-looking reporting, financial performance summaries and even whether it would be better for companies to provide a range of estimated results as opposed to a single number, for certain sets of results.

The group will begin to meet in August and is set to complete its work in the space of a year.

Further reading:

How to Simplify Accounting in One Year

US 'must revise Sarbox to stay competitive'