Will the tortoise win over the hare in US IFRS conversion?

There are signs on the horizon that the US changeover to IFRS may be in jeopardy or perhaps slowed down considerably.

I previously reported on the statements of the new SEC Chair about IFRS. The general tenor was to take a deep breath and take a second look. Comments on the SEC IFRS Roadmap are due February 19.

In this vein the FEI in the US has issued a letter to the SEC asking for a 45 day delay in the comment period. The pressures of year end reporting under unusual circumstances are restricting time that can be spent on responding to the important document.

Please read about it in the latest FEI financial reporting article.

My advice to anyone following this issue is not to jump to any conclusions. As I understand people seem to be asking for more breathing room all round. We must await the comments on the proposed IFRS Roadmap. As far as I have seen there has been no official repudiation of the document that was issued for comment under the previous Republican administration. There are reports of differences of opinion in the Obama administration. I will remind everyone that the proposed Roadmap would mandate a phased in approach with a significant review of progress in 2011. Just before the next presidential election. Just when you thought that it was over.

There are some that are saying that a Tortoise approach would be better. The proposed IFRS Roadmap seems a rather slow "hare"to me. What do I know I am a Canadian. You have to build in the requirement in the USA for two years of comparative data so it would be on top of us before we know it.

Is publication of the SEC Roadmap imminent?

An article in today's Accountancy Age by Gavin Hinks states that the SEC will publish its Roadmap to IFRS this week. Roadmap imminent as Cox mounts charge towards IFRS notes that the SEC will put this proposal in place before the new US administration in the US installs a new Chairman.

We have been on SEC watch since August this year when the SEC announced the contents of a proposed Roadmap to IFRS conversion in the USA. I am awaiting its publication eagerly - there is only 2 days left in "this week".

The CFO magazine reported last week that John Nester, an SEC spokesman, told CFO.com that the timetable should be published next (this) week. Looks like it's coming folks!

The document will still be a "proposal"and will be published in the Federal Register with a request for comments. They are likely to get several comments.

IFRS - SEC the date

The CFO Magazine published an article today on the forthcoming meeting this Wednesday. The article SEC to Reveal IFRS Start Dates This Week is written by Sarah Johnson. The article states that
On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission will propose a date for U.S. companies to be allowed to convert to international financial reporting standards.

I did not get out of the Notice that came out last Friday that there would be a definitive statement about the dates for IFRS adoption. It seemed to me that there might be various proposals put forward for discussion. (See my post from Friday). Of course I may be wrong about this. The Notice stated that:

The Commission will consider whether to propose (emphasis added) a Roadmap for the potential use by U.S. issuers for purposes of their filings with the Commission of financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. As part of the Roadmap, the Commission will also consider whether to propose (emphasis added)amendments to various rules and forms that would permit early use of IFRS by a limited number of U.S. issuers.


I am awaiting the discussion with a lot of interest. We do not have long to wait. Hope that it does not get muted by the hoopla of the Democratic Convention.

Let's hope that the product of this will be a set of proposals that are put out for public debate. All this affects us in Canada. I believe that the impetus toward IFRS will be significantly ramped up if the US comes on side with IFRS. I would expect too that the IFRSs themselves would be significantly reinforced. This has, of course, already started as the IASB and FASB work toward their convergence projects.

IFRS The SEC Roadmap

While we are awaiting decisions on the date of eventual adoption of IFRS by US companies on a voluntary or mandatory basis we should remember that the SEC has been very active over the last few years in seeking input on the IFRS issue. There is a very useful section of its website setting out the activities on the "roadmap".
http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/ifrsroadmap.htm