Switching from LIFO

Strategies for Change

Linda Hughen, PhD, CPA, and Jane R. Livingstone, PhD, CPA, and David Upton, PhD, CA

In the United States, the SEC is expected to eventually mandate adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). U.S. standards setters have been working toward this eventuality through a process of convergence. The SEC issued a statement in early 2010 that updated its timeline and indicated that companies could be required to adopt IFRS as early as 2015 (see SEC, “Commission Statement in Support of Convergence and Global Accounting Standards,” Release Nos. 33-9109; 34-61578, February 24, 2010, at www.sec.gov/rules/other/2010/33-9109.pdf). The SEC plans to revisit the issue this year. The general consensus suggests, however, that under IFRS, the last-in, first-out (LIFO) inventory valuation method will no longer be permitted for financial or tax reporting.