FRC urges SEC to let US companies adopt IFRS

The UK's financial reporting regulator has called on the US markets to allow US domestic companies to implement IFRS if they wish.

The Financial Reporting Council has called on the Securities & Exchange Commission to open up IFRS to its domestic companies to use for financial reporting inn place of US GAAP. Such a move would be an extension of the SEC's current policy which enables non-US companies listed in the US to use IFRS.

'A decision by the SEC to permit US companies to use IFRS would enhance the global acceptance of IFRS as a set of high quality accounting standards,' said FRC chief executive Paul Boyle.

The FRC also wants the SEC to clarify that companies which move to IFRS will not be forced back onto US GAAP if IFRS is not mandated to US companies in the future.

The International Accounting Standards Board and US counterpart the Financial Accounting Standards Board should work to together to improve financial reporting, rather than focus on the convergence of IFRS and US GAAP as its goal.