US GAAP and IFRS Convergence Moving Along

International Accounting Standards Board Chairman Sir David Tweedie told the council of the European Union that the effort to reconcile Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is advancing.


“Both the FASB and the IASB have agreed upon common principles to help us to achieve a common standard,” he said. “That is our objective. At the same time, the IASB is conscious of the strongly held view of investors and other stake-holders internationally that a combination of cost-based and fair-value accounting remains appropriate for financial instruments.”

Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reaffirmed its commitment to make a decision in 2011 to adopt converged standards by 2015 or 2016.

“For nearly 30 years, the Commission has promoted a single set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards, which would advance the dual goals of improving financial reporting within the U.S. and reducing country-by-country disparities in financial reporting,” SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro said in a statement. “But supporting this goal is only the beginning of the discussion, not the end.”