Financial Reporting

The SEC said it anticipates issuing a Proposing Release later this summer that will request comments on proposed changes to its rules that would allow foreign private issuers that list on U.S. exchanges to report in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) without preparing a reconciliation to U.S. GAAP. In addition, the proposed rule would give foreign private issuers a choice between IFRS and U.S. GAAP. Secondly, the SEC plans to publish a Concept Release on the possibility of treating U.S. and foreign private issuers similarly by also providing U.S. issuers the alternative to use IFRS. Comments on both would be due in the fall.

“The next steps that the Commission is announcing today will keep us on course with the Roadmap announced in 2005,” SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in a press release. Pending public comments on the proposal, “we remain on track to eliminate reconciliation by 2009.”

In a staff position document, FASB modified FASB Interpretation no. 39, Offsetting of Amounts Related to Certain Contracts. FASB Staff Position FIN 39-1 amends paragraph 3 of FIN 39 by replacing the terms “conditional contracts” and “exchange contracts” with the term “derivative instruments” as defined in FASB Statement no. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities. The staff position also changed language in paragraph 10 of FIN 39 to allow a reporting entity to offset fair value amounts recognized for the right to reclaim cash collateral or the obligation to return cash collateral against fair value amounts recognized for derivative instruments executed with the same counterparty under the same master netting agreement that have been offset in accordance with paragraph 10. The FSP is available at www.fasb.org/fasb_staff_positions/fsp_fin39-1.pdf.