An Update On The Possible Incorporation Of IFRS Into The U.S. Financial Reporting System

Abstract

The SEC issued the “Commission Statement in Support of Convergence and Global Accounting Standards” in February 2010 to reaffirm its position that IFRS was best positioned to serve as the single set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards and indicated that it would not incorporate IFRS into the financial reporting system for U.S. issuers unless such a change is in the best interest of U.S. investors and capital markets and that a determination was expected to be made in 2011 as to whether, when, and how to incorporate IFRS into the financial reporting system for U.S. issuers. It is now 2015 and the SEC still has not yet made a decision. Nonetheless, based on the statements given by the SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr at the Baruch College Financial Reporting Conference in May 2015, it appears that the SEC might make a decision really soon. The wait for the SEC’s decision might finally be over. This paper provides an update on the possible incorporation of IFRS into the U.S. financial reporting system.