Trichet calls for accounting convergence
Trichet wants to see international standards “on both sides of the Atlantic"
Jean Claude Trichet
The head of the European Central Bank has called for global accounting standards to be adopted in the US, in a speech on the sidelines of a meeting with G20 leaders, yesterday.
Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank President, would like to see the same accounting rules “on both sides of the Atlantic”, according comments reported by the Reuters news agency.
“We need in my opinion accounting rules that would be the same on both sides of the Atlantic, and at the level of the globe,” he said.
The comments will add pressure on US regulator, the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), which earlier in the year failed to set a mandatory switch date from domestic to international standards.
The body is reviewing the impact of international accounting rules on US companies and markets. It expects to make a firm decision next year.
Meanwhile, US and international standards setters have met monthly to converge their two accounting codes by a June 2011 deadline imposed by G20 leaders last year, despite having no concrete commitment from the SEC.
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