SEC Releases Proposed IFRS Roadmap For 90-Day Comment Period
Nov. 14, 2008
FEI Summary

On Nov. 14, 2008 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission posted (under proposed rules): “Roadmap for the Potential Use of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. Issuers” (the “IFRS Roadmap”).

The comment deadline is Feb. 19, 2009.  

Excerpted below is the Summary provided in the first couple pages of SEC’s 165-page proposal:

“The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is proposing a Roadmap for the potential use of financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board by U.S. issuers for purposes of their filings with the Commission. This Roadmap sets forth several milestones that, if achieved, could lead to the required use of IFRS by U.S. issuers in 2014 if the Commission believes it to be in the public interest and for the protection of investors. This Roadmap also includes discussion of various areas of consideration for market participants related to the eventual use of IFRS in the United States. As part of the Roadmap, the Commission is proposing amendments to various regulations, rules and forms that would permit early use of IFRS by a limited number of U.S. issuers where this would enhance the comparability of financial information to investors. Only an issuer whose industry uses IFRS as the basis of financial reporting more than any other set of standards would be eligible to elect to use IFRS, beginning with filings in 2010.”

FEI will have more detailed analysis of the proposed IFRS roadmap, watch www.financialexecutives.org for updates.

Other summaries from, and links to related webcasts:

Heads Up: SEC IFRS Roadmap (Deloitte summary of highlights from SEC IFRS Roadmap)

Hot Topic: SEC Issues IFRS Roadmap (Ernst & Young summary of highlights from SEC's IFRS Roadmap)

Journey to IFRS: The SEC's Roadmap (Ernst & Young webcast, November 20) 

IFRS Top 20 Tracker: (Grant Thornton LLP publication summarizing 20 leading disclosure and accounting issues companies have been encountering when preparing their IFRS financial statements)

Defining Issues: SEC IFRS Roadmap (KPMG summary of highlights from SEC IFRS Roadmap)

Insights on SEC Proposed IFRS Roadmap (KPMG webcast November 19; archved webcasts here)

IFRS Resources, including Ten Minutes on Transitioning to IFRS (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

Updated Dec. 1, 2008 by Edith Orenstein, Director, Technical Policy Analysis, Financial Executives International (FEI). This summary does not represent FEI opinion unless specifically noted above.