SEC announces roundtable for IFRS 'roadmap'
Discussions to begin in March to review removal of IFRS/US GAAP reconciliation statement
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has
announced that a roundtable discussion on the ‘roadmap’ of IFRS will take place
in Washington D.C. in March.
The ‘roadmap’ – which was affirmed by SEC chairman Christopher Cox in
February last year – describes the steps that have to be taken in order for
non-US companies to reconcile the US GAAP financial statements they prepare,
pursuant to IFRS issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, in
filings with the Commission.
Current SEC foreign private filers apply IFRS but are still obligated to
reconcile the results with US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
‘Nearly 100 countries currently use, or have a policy of convergence with,
IFRS, including the European Union, where IFRS reporting has been mandatory
since 2005.
‘Eliminating the current reconciliation requirement, and paving the way for
the use of both systems in the United States, remains the objective of the
roadmap,’ said chairman Cox. ‘This roundtable will help us identify both
opportunities and speed bumps along the way.’
Three panels are set to constitute the roundtable, which will review the
effect on the capital raising process in the US capital markets; the effect on
issuers in the US capital markets; and the effect on investors in the US capital
markets.
The roundtable will be held at the Commission’s headquarters in Washington,
D.C. and will be open to the public.
Further reading:
SEC to work closely with Europe on IFRS