US accountants preparing for global financial reporting rules

More than half of US accountants are preparing for widespread adoption of international financial reporting standards, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

After initial scpeticism US accountants now appear to have swung behind IFRS, according to a survey of 1,495 AICPA members.

Support for IFRS seems to have been boosted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission proposing a timeline for transitioning - and possibly for mandating that publicly traded US companies begin replacing US GAAP - within the next decade.

A greater proportion of AICPA members said they were prepared for international accounting rules compared to when they were last surveyed in April. So far more than 100 countries have adopted some form of IFRS.