IFRS: leading companies, auditors, regulators all say, 'Start Now.

• Author: Orenstein, Edith
• Position: Financial reporting - International Financial Reporting Standards - Financial Executives International conference - Conference news

At FEI's sold-out conference in New York City on June 5, "The World is Moving to IFRS, Are You?", the message was clear: the move to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as the global accounting standard is proceeding quickly, and companies should begin to consider the potential impact of such a move. The conference is one in a series of FEI events to lead in educating its members and others on IFRS. This conference was sponsored by BNA Tax & Accounting.

Keynote speaker John White, director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance, told attendees that the IFRS Roadmap, which SEC Chairman Christopher Cox has requested--outlining a timetable and milestones for considering an optional or mandatory requirement for U.S. public companies to file their financial statements with the SEC in IFRS instead of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP)--"is not one of those back-burner projects; it's happening."

Citing remarks by SEC Chairman Cox, White said, "We support one global set of standards promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)." Since 2005, he continued, the European Union (EU) has required IFRS of its member countries; currently over 100 countries require or are considering requiring IFRS, he said, including major economies like Canada and Australia.

Although not simply "following the herd," White said there can sometimes be "greener pastures" in changing one's way of doing things. Furthermore, he observed that if the U.S. wants to have a role in the international standard-setting process and not be left behind, it is important to have U.S. companies actually applying IFRS.

Additionally, White noted that U.S. investors are increasingly spending money on overseas companies, including companies that do not file with the SEC and were never required to reconcile their financial statements from IFRS to U.S. GAAP; he said this shows U.S. investors already have a certain level of confidence in basing investment decisions on IFRS filings.

Speakers following White concurred that the world is moving to IFRS, and the advice of leading auditors and financial executives can be boiled down to two words, as expressed by Kevin McBride, Accounting Policy controller at Intel Corp.: "Start Now."

He and Mitch Danaher, deputy comptroller for General Electric Co., advised attendees to begin organizing project management teams, including communicating with investor...