IASB & FASB accelerating attempt to complete convergence between IFRS & U.S. GAAP.

• Position: National - International Accounting Standards Board, Financial Accounting Standards Board, International Financial Reporting Standards, United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles - Brief article

U.S.-based CFOs should familiarize themselves with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and its convergence with U.S. GAAP since the new international accounting rules under discussion between the IASB and FASB will combine elements of the rule sets.

IASB and FASB hope to finish up negotiations on accounting standards by 2008, but IFRS has already been adopted or has been permitted for use in more than 100 countries. The United States is the only major country that has not come on board. While the IASB and FASB have made progress on the convergence process for IFRS and U.S. GAAP, the issue of how to apply the global standard is unsettled.

A 2005 Ernst & Young study revealed that European Union...