CPA Observation Post

The world waits for the U.S. to decide on IFRS (via @NYTimes)

The Securities and Exchange Commission was expected to make a decision about U.S. adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards at the end of the last year. That decision was postponed and there is talk that it could be delayed even longer. Europe and other parts of the world are growing impatient with the lack of a clear deadline. Read More>>

Grant Thornton CEO Chipman Sees IFRS Decision Coming (via @AccountingToday)

With the G-20 finance ministers having given accounting standard setters a new deadline of mid-2013 to get their convergence work done, the Securities and Exchange Commission is under fresh pressure to reach a decision on incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system. Read More>>

IASB plans to create network for standard-setters to influence IFRS

The International Accounting Standards Board plans to establish a formal network to give standard-setting bodies a voice when their countries switch to International Financial Reporting Standards. There is conflict, however, over how the network will operate and whether it would dilute IFRS as a single set of reporting standards. Advocates of such a network say the U.S. will not commit to IFRS without it. Read More>>

SEC chairman says U.S. won't be rushed into IASB rules

Mary Schapiro, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the U.S. won't be rushed or forced into adopting international accounting standards. "I don't feel any pressure at all to go along with anybody," Schapiro said. "I feel pressure to do the right thing for U.S. markets and U.S. investors." More than 100 nations use the International Accounting Standards Board's accounting rules. Read More>>

Hoogervorst: Once U.S. moves to IFRS, Japan and India could follow

International Accounting Standards Board Chairman Hans Hoogervorst believes that the U.S. will adopt international accounting standards, although he doesn’t expect the country to fully embrace them within three years. The positive momentum to International Financial Reporting Standards by the U.S., in whatever form, will also encourage other nations, such as India and Japan to follow suit, he says. Read More>>

IASB's proposed standards put pressure on U.S.

The Monitoring Board and the trustees of the IFRS Foundation on Thursday issued long-awaited recommendations for improving the governance of the foundation, which is the parent of the International Accounting Standards Board, and setting its strategy. The effort adds to pressure on the U.S. to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards, which are used by public companies in more than 100 nations. Read More>>

Study predicts better earnings if IFRS is mandated in U.S.

U.S. public companies could get an earnings boost if the Securities and Exchange Commission mandates the use of International Financial Reporting Standards, according to a study by accounting professors at the University of Windsor and the University of Auckland. Read More>>

Hoogervorst Anticipates Favorable SEC Decision on IFRS (via @AcccountingToday)

International Accounting Standards Board chairman Hans Hoogervorst told attendees at an accounting conference in Moscow on Monday that he believes the U.S. will ultimately decide to support International Financial Reporting Standards. Read More>>

Fatigue Setting in for Accounting Standard-Setters (via @AccountingToday)

Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said in a new report that it expects the U.S. will still move forward with plans to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into U.S. GAAP, but in a “prolonged, cautious and incremental way.” Read More>>

IASB and FASB Issue Common Offsetting Disclosure Requirements

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have issued common disclosure requirements that are intended to help investors and other financial statement users to better assess the effect or potential effect of offsetting arrangements on a company’s financial position. The eligibility criteria for offsetting are different in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). >>Read more