SEC Looking for Feedback on IFRS Plan

The SEC is calling for comments on certain aspects of its IFRS work plan. In one release Thursday, the SEC asked for feedback regarding investor knowledge of the international accounting standards and what it might take–in time and logistics–to improve investor understanding of IFRS. A second release is focused on gauging the impact that adopting IFRS would have on issuers’ compliance with contractual arrangements that require the use of U.S. GAAP and their compliance with corporate governance requirements, as well as the “application of certain legal standards tied to amounts determined for financial reporting purposes.”The deadline for comments is 60 days after publication of the releases in the Federal Register.

The SEC also has a general request form on its website for comment on the work plan.

The SEC’s unanimous approval in February of a new policy statement and staff work plan set the scene for a watershed vote next year on if and when the CPA profession will be required to transition to IFRS for U.S. public company financial reports. The statement says the SEC is not ruling out the possibility that issuers may be allowed to choose between the use of IFRS or U.S. GAAP.

Though much remains uncertain, the SEC has made clear that it envisions 2015 as the earliest possible date for the required use of IFRS by U.S. public companies. Commissioners have called for more study of IFRS and a 2011 vote on whether to move ahead with a mandate to use IFRS. The SEC is expected to publish periodic progress reports on its work, starting no later than October.

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