Mapping the Road to IFRS: A Survey of CPAs in Public Practice

Joseph M. Langmead, STD, MBA, CPA, and Jalal Soroosh, PhD, CMA

The essential elements of the SEC's proposed road map for adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by U.S. public companies were reaffirmed by the current members of the SEC earlier this year, and the accounting community continues to consider their implications. Anticipation of such a significant change has led accountants to a range of responses, from passive watchfulness to active preparation and training. The originally proposed road map, issued for comment on November 14, 2008, identified 2014 as the proposed date for the largest U.S. public companies to convert to IFRS, with smaller public companies converting over the two ensuing years. A defined group of companies would be permitted to convert earlier than 2014, and the whole conversion process would be subject to satisfactory progress on convergence (of U.S. GAAP and IFRS) and a number of other defined conditions by 2011. While the change of administration in Washington has caused some observers to speculate about a loss of momentum, the SEC's February 2010 reaf-firmation, along with recent statements by the current chairman and chief accountant, keeps the road map essentially on track while moving the proposed adoption date from 2014 to 2015.