Mr Hoogervorst illustrated the progress in 2013 on conclusions of the SEC’s 2012 Staff Report on IFRS.
One of the main conclusions of the SEC Staff Report was the need to deepen cooperation with national standard-setters such as the FASB. In April this year, the IASB created an Accounting Standards Advisory Forum or ASAF to fulfil exactly that requirement. Russ Golden and other participants in the ASAF have talked positively about the importance of these meetings for ensuring that IFRS meets the needs of all capital markets, including the US. The ASAF has met three times during 2013 and the IASB could not have hoped for a better start.
Next, and this will be of particular interest to the preparers in this room, the SEC Report noted some scary estimates about the cost of transition to IFRS for US issuers. So, the IASB thought it would be helpful to look at Canada’s experience of IFRS adoption. Canada is not a perfect proxy for US markets, but Canadian GAAP was very similar to US GAAP so their experience is insightful.
The SEC Report also touched upon a lack of clarity on the extent to which IFRS jurisdictions had actually adopted the standards. So, during 2013 former IASB Board member Paul Pacter has led a major research programme looking to answer exactly that question.
A further conclusion of the Report was the importance of ensuring that international standards are applied and enforced on a globally consistent basis. Consistent with this observation, in September 2013 the IASB entered a joint Statement of Cooperation with IOSCO of which the SEC chairs the accounting policy committee.
As a result of this agreement, the IASB and IOSCO will work together in a proactive manner to encourage greater consistency in the implementation and enforcement of IFRS. This important step formalises an already very constructive relationship. It will serve as the bedrock for continued cooperation between the IASB and IOSCO. It signposts their shared commitment to global accounting standards.
There are several other areas of progress during 2013. For example, the IASB is working in close cooperation with the CFA Institute and other investor representative bodies to further enhance the already high levels of investor education and understanding of IFRS. Finally, the IASB has also seen during the year significant progress in Japan using voluntary adoption of IFRS as a way to satisfy the needs of those that wish to benefit from global standards without imposing on others the transitional burden.
Full speech
© IASB - International Accounting Standards Board
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article