The European Union and the US are expected to sign an agreement on the required reporting standards later this week during a meeting of the Transatlantic Economic Council, the US ambassador to the EU said yesterday.

It appears the US financial market regulator has yielded to EU pressure to bring forward the date on which the obligation to use US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is abolished, Director of Finance online reports. The US expects the EU on its part to introduce similar changes for US companies with a European listing.

In February 2006, Charlie McCreevy, EU internal market commissioner, and Christopher Cox, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman, expressed their commitment to eliminate the need for reconciliation between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and GAAP.

McCreevy stressed the approval of the financial statements by the regulatory authority in the home jurisdiction should be included in any decisions taken by the regulatory authorities in other markets.

Further reading:

Read the story in Director of Finance online

IASB seeks overseer for its decisions

US-quoted companies urge reconciliation shift