FASB, IASB Leaders Boost Collaboration Efforts to Meet 2011 Convergence Goal

FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board will begin meeting monthly to try to speed up efforts to develop a common set of accounting standards by the target date of 2011, the heads of both boards said Thursday during a general session at a conference on IFRS held in New York.

“We make the most and best progress when we meet together,” said FASB Chairman Robert Herz. “We are now committed to meet about every month, six times a year face to face and off months by video conference. The end game is to try to bring things together in a converged way on all these major projects, including financial instruments.”

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Schapiro Says SEC Will Discuss Transition To IFRS This Fall

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro said Friday that this fall she expects the agency to address its " expectations" for the potential future adoption of a set of global accounting standards.

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G-20: Achieve Single Set of Global Accounting Standards by June 2011

In an agreement reached Friday to make dozens of changes to the regulation of financial markets, systems and institutions, the leaders of the G-20 called on “international accounting bodies to redouble their efforts to achieve a single set of high quality, global accounting standards within the context of their independent standard setting process, and complete their convergence project by June 2011.”

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IFRS Risk Planning and Controls Execution

Conversion to IFRS will be far more than a technical accounting exercise. Implementing IFRS will impact many, if not all, aspects of your business operations, including information technology. It may bring companywide changes that will spawn new risks. These include system changes, modifications to processes impacting employees’ day-to-day duties, and new accounting policies.

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Simplified Reporting: Forgotten in the Crisis?

August 2008 was a hopeful time for advocates of principles-based accounting. The United States had a new plan to adopt global accounting standards, which are considered to allow for more judgment than U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. And an advisory group to the Securities and Exchange Commission unveiled a 170-page report recommending ways financial reporting could be simplified, including the belief that bright lines should not exist.

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Viewpoints on Adoption of IFRS

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Tweedie Warns of 2011 Deadline for IFRS Choice

International Accounting Standards Board chairman Sir David Tweedie said that other countries are running out of patience waiting for the Securities and Exchange Commission to decide on whether to approve a roadmap for transitioning to International Financial Reporting Standards and that the U.S. would need to commit by 2011.

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http://www.webcpa.com/news/Tweedie-Warns-2011-Deadline-IFRS-Choice-51224-1.html

IFRS Conversion Puts Demand on Technology

Switching to International Financial Reporting Standards could prove to be a costly move for many companies’ IT departments, according to a new report by Ernst & Young.
The report, “Inside IFRS: The Opportunity for IT,” describes the unexpected complexity of converting to IFRS and the high expenses the change can entail. “IFRS conversion requires fundamental change on multiple levels, can take up to several years, and affects virtually every function within an organization,” said the report. It cites a survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, in which 75 percent of the respondents reported increased complexity around information technology issues.

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http://www.webcpa.com/news/IFRS-Conversion-Puts-Demand-Technology-51203-1.html

IFRS FAQs

Want to easily and quickly find out what has been happening with International Financial Reporting Standards and what could be on the horizon? Read the completely updated IFRS FAQs, formatted so you can select the questions and answers you're interested in

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http://www.ifrs.com/ifrs_faqs.html

Canada companies seen lagging on accounting switch

TORONTO, June 25 (Reuters) - Many of Canada's public companies have been slow to implement new international accounting standards that could have big financial implications, according to a study released on Thursday.
Companies will have to scramble to make the changes ahead of a 2011 deadline, the report said

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http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2527382020090625

New Option for Private Companies in Streamlined IFRS

U.S. private companies have a new choice for accounting and financial reporting—a slimmed-down version of IFRS tailored more to their needs. IFRS for SMEs (small- and medium-size entities) is a simplification of full IFRS. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which released the standard Thursday after five years of work on the project, defines SMEs as businesses that publish general-purpose financial statements for external users and do not have public accountability. Many U.S. private companies would fit that definition.

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http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Web/20091891.htm

IFRS - The Coming Convergence

IFRS and Your Tax Practice

How will IFRS change your world?Complimentary webcast

The advent of IFRS in the United States will require fundamental changes in practices, policies and systems. An early understanding of the issues and how they will impact your organization will be critical to successfully managing the change.

Join us on Thursday, May 28 as we present John Barnes, partner, Grant Thornton Advisory Services Group, who will provide an insider's view into what IFRS is and how it will impact your accounting, internal controls, tax and technology functions.

This program includes topics such as:
risks and benefits of IFRS conversion;
potential effects on your people and processes;
when you should be thinking about the impact of converting to IFRS (answer: now); and
steps you can and should take today to prepare.

Date: Thursday, May 28Time: 1 - 2 p.m. ET Please register by visiting http://click.e.grantthornton.com/?ju=fe5913727d61007f741d&ls=fdf217707d6d077e741c7776&m=fefc1774716701&l=fed115707362057d&s=fe2416797060007b7c1474&jb=ffcf14&t=

FRC urges SEC to let US companies adopt IFRS

FASB head urges decision on international accounting

AICPA Supports IFRS Adoption, Recommends Changes to SEC Road Map

International Financial Reporting Standards Impact On Hotels

I have worked under both and it appears to me that IFRS is a lot better than US standards