Europe's CFOs Back IAS.

• Author: Heffes, Ellen M.
• Position: International accounting standards - Brief Article

Nearly 80 percent of chief financial officers surveyed in Europe support the introduction of international accounting standards (LAS) for financial reporting by publicly listed companies. Two-thirds of those surveyed favor making IAS the sole standard or an acceptable alternative to national GAAP.

Seven hundred seventeen CFOs of listed companies in 16 European countries were surveyed by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"CFOs in Europe clearly welcome moves towards creating a single, high-quality international financial reporting framework. Using a single standard will make life more straightforward for most companies. It will save substantial costs of preparing different information for national and international use. It will help companies compete for funds more effectively in the global capital markets and provide a level playing field for companies and investors," said Mary Keegan, head of global corporate reporting at PwC.

The survey asked the CFOs for their views on IAS and on the European Commission's proposal to require all listed companies in the European Union to submit consolidated financial reports under IAS by 2005. Seventy-nine percent of the CFOs say they favor the proposal that -- if it becomes law -- will introduce the biggest changes to financial reporting in Europe in 30 years.

Keegan cites Internet usage as "probably the key driver for change," noting that 80 percent of the respondents already report their results on the Internet...