Securities & Corporate Governance - GAAP Reconciliation Eliminated for IFRS Financial Statements
As set forth in this
press release, on
November 15, 2007, the SEC approved rule amendments under which financial statements from foreign private issuers in the U.S. will be accepted without reconciliation to U.S. GAAP if they are prepared using the International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
As part of its adoption of this new rule, the SEC stated its belief that the use of the IASB-approved version will encourage the development of IFRS as a uniform global standard across nations. Further, the SEC noted that consistency
of application of IFRS will help U.S. investors who own foreign securities to have better comparability.
The SEC release concerning the rule amendments has not yet been disseminated by the SEC. The rule amendments will take effect 60 days after they are published in the Federal Register and will apply to financial statements covering
years ended after Nov. 15, 2007.
The SEC is also considering the concept of permitting US issuers to use either IFRS or US GAAP and will hold two roundtables on December 13th and 17th to discuss.