GET READY FOR IFRS
The growing acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a basis for U.S. financial reporting represents a fundamental change for the U.S. accounting profession. Today approximately 113 countries require or allow the use of IFRS for the preparation of financial statements by publicly held companies. In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been taking steps to set a date to allow U.S. public companies to use IFRS, and perhaps make its adoption mandatory. In fact, on November 14, 2008, the SEC released for public comment a proposed roadmap with a timeline and key milestones for adopting IFRS beginning in 2014.
The international standard-setting process began several decades ago as an effort by industrialized nations to create standards that could be used by developing and smaller nations unable to establish their own accounting standards. But as the business world became more global, regulators, investors, large companies and auditing firms began to realize the importance of having common standards in all areas of the financial reporting chain.
View International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) — An AICPA Backgrounder [PDF - 375k]
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