...IFRS in the United States: If, When and How Donna L. Street s described by Erchinger (2012), for decades various United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairs and Chief Accountants have expressed support for the development of one set of globally accepted accounting standards. Since the formation of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in 2001, SEC leaders have repeatedly indicated that the logical choice for globally accepted standards is the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the IASB. However, in line with other large economies, such as Japan, India and China, as of June 2012 the US had not adopted IFRS.1 This paper explores when and how, and indeed if, IFRS will become the basis for the financial reporting of domestic SEC registrants in the US. Readers are encouraged to first review Erchinger’s (2012) history of the SEC’s consideration of IFRS in the US included in this forum and especially Table 1 of this article, which provides a chronology of SEC releases regarding incorporation of IFRS into the US financial reporting model. This paper complements Erchinger’s by assessing approaches recently explored by the SEC for incorporating IFRS into the US financial reporting model. A decision can lead to correct or incorrect action. However, as articulated by many SEC constituents, uncertainty associated with repeated delays and hence ‘no decision’ by the SEC is clearly not in the best interest of investors and other financial...
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...Will IFRS and GAAP Convergence (or Adoption) work for investors? What a Switch from GAAP to IFRS May Mean for Investors Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/11/28/what-switch-from-gaap-to-ifrs-may-mean-for-investors/#ixzz1t7Fuj1U9 The convergence between IFRS and GAAP has been a hot topic in the world of accounting. From defining the difference between adoption and convergence, when should the US adopt to IFRS, how should the US do it, what’s the impact for public company and private company, and the list go on and on. This article in Fox Business discusses the impact of IFRS and GAAP convergence specifically to investors. The author first discuss about how important convergence of IFRS and GAAP is to the US. Knowing how the global market is a very dynamic market nowadays with companies and firms merging, expanding and investing globally across the world, having a standard financial reporting system would be beneficial not to just investors but to all aspect of people analyzing the business plan. The SEC is working on issue a standard of procedure of educating US companies about the comparison between GAAP and IFRS along with how some foreign companies have used IFRS with SEC filings. The second part of the article discussed some issues that investors and business analyst might find in dealing with IFRS. First is the flexibility of IFRS standards compare to a strict rule of GAAP standards. The article quoted from Charles Mulford, a professor...
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...The Difference between U.S. GAAP and IFRS on Revenue Recognition The Difference between U.S. GAAP and IFRS on Revenue Recognition Trade activities among world economies and the expansion of corporate America overseas have created a need for better and uniform global accounting standards. Many countries conduct businesses globally, especially with the United States. The convergence from Generally Acceptable Accounting Principle (GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) can be related to the convergence of Europe, when both entities were in search of common ground to conduct business transactions. As a result of global accounting needs, in 2001 the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) was given the go ahead by major constituents of the world’s capital markets to develop a single set of high quality accounting standards. This crisis gave birth to the Financial Accounting Standard Board - IASB convergence program (Bahusova, 2009). IASB, along with the FASB, had an open debate in December of 2008 on revenue recognition concerning the changes in customer contract and the obligation between them and the seller. The debate focused on uniform standards for both United States companies that use GAAP and other non- foreign companies using IFRS (Mintz, 2009). The two bodies wanted to achieve continuity on revenue recognition for similar contracts, regardless of the company’s origin. This advancement would increase the quality of revenue...
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...| Convergence of Accounting Standards | ACC 304 | | Nicole McKinney | 2/27/2013 | The word convergence refers to the process of eliminating differences in accounting standards among countries. The phrase international convergence of accounting standards refers to both a goal and the path taken to reach it. Convergence is driven by several factors, including the belief that having a single set of accounting requirements would increase the comparability of different entities' accounting numbers, which will contribute to the flow of international investment and benefit a variety of stakeholders. The efficiency and competitiveness of global capital markets rest on on the ability of financial statement preparers to communicate effectively with investors through financial reports. In spite of the global movement to accept IFRS, US adoption of IFRS is still uncertain. The majority of people believe that effective convergence to a set of globally accepted accounting standards would be beneficial to preparers, users, auditors, analysts, and standard setters. Convergence in accounting standards can require extensive and possibly costly changes to the standard-setting organization and enforcement process in the US and other countries, and will also require suitable training for management, auditors, and investors. In the United States, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is working with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to reduce or eliminate the...
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...Under the circumstances, it would be imperative for Indian corporates to adopt IFRS for their financial reporting. IFRS adoption procedure in India To rationalize accounting practices in the country, the Indian government in 1949, established Institute of Chartered Accountants of India by passing ICAI Act, 1949. Accounting Standard Board was constituted by ICAI in 1977 in order to create harmony among the diversified accounting policies and practices in India. Three steps process was laid down by the accounting professionals in India which are summarized as...
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...Week 7 Assignment 2 The Impact of the Convergence of IFRS and GAAP on Auditors Acc 576 Auditing and Business Concepts Abstract The convergence of IFRS and GAAP continues to present professional challenges for U.S. auditors, it also presents career opportunities for auditors who encompasses the idea of globalized change. The convergence of accounting standards is changing the attitudes of CPAs and CFOs as far as internal accounting is concerned and how the quality of the International Accounting Standards will affect it and the efforts made toward converging IFRS and the GAAP standards. Create an argument for or against the IFRS and GAAP convergence process versus a pure adoption of IFRS in the context of impact to the public accounting profession. With Business and finance globalization, almost a hundred countries have adopted IFRS. Approximately 120 nations and reporting jurisdictions permit or require IFRS for domestic listed companies, although approximately 90 countries have fully conformed with IFRS as announced by the IASB and include a statement acknowledging such conformity in audit reports. Motivations for convergence include the belief that it will result in increased comparability between financial statements, which will benefit a variety of stakeholders. One would need to weigh the benefits of a one time cost for transitioning fee, the ability to compare reports, and the benefit of using a single reporting standard for businesses. Assess the cost...
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...International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) An AICPA Backgrounder 1 Table of Contents Get Ready for IFRS ........................................................................................ 2 Worldwide Momentum ................................................................................. 2 SEC Leadership in International Effort .......................................................... 3 The SEC Work Plan........................................................................................ 4 FASB and IASB Convergence Efforts............................................................. 5 AICPA Participation ....................................................................................... 7 Two Sides of the Story ................................................................................... 7 Differences Remain Between U.S. GAAP and IFRS ....................................... 8 What CPAs Need To Know ............................................................................ 8 Appendix ..................................................................................................... 10 Organizations Involved ................................................................................ 12 1 Get Ready for IFRS The growing acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as a basis for U.S. financial reporting represents a fundamental change for the U.S. accounting profession. The number of countries that require...
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...“Discuss the questions raised by the financial crisis over the objective of general purpose financial reporting, and how the IFRS Foundations Trustees wish to resolve them”. The financial crisis which started during the summer 2007 is, by its magnitude and its scale, the strongest crisis that happened since 1929. Begun as a bank crisis which have destroyed and “all the major US bulge-bracket firms” (Molyneux & Valdez, 2010, page 263), the crisis spread like wildfire and has rapidly engulfed the entire financial world. Even if everybody agree to recognise that accounting was not the root cause of financial crisis, its role to prevent future financial crisis could be significant. Many questions have been raised by financial crisis over the objective of general purpose financial reporting. The first question is related to the purpose of the financial reporting. In fact, the actual crisis has showed that, more than ever, the financial sector needs prudential regulators (Goodhart, et al.,2003, page 10) (Molyneux & Valdez, 2010, page 470) (Spencer, 2000, page 211); because the information given by the financial reporting is an important tool for regulators, standard setters and regulators need then to collaborate. However, their interest could overlap or be in conflict. In these cases, it is important to formulate clearly the main aim of financial reporting. The lacks of global standard as well as the inconsistency of some standards are two other weaknesses of the financial...
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...the ship is still taking on water. The SEC took a tentative poke at the problem last May with the publication of a Staff Paper, Exploring a Possible Method of Incorporation (with emphasis, supposedly, on "exploring"). Once upon a future time, the staff fantasized, it will be possible that financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP will simultaneously comply with IFRS as issued by the IASB. Known informally as 'condorsement', the paper describes the staff's wishful thinking in the form of three "convergence" phases and a final "endorsement" phase. Convergence Phase I — Would somehow complete the few surviving MoU convergence projects by the end of this year, but even those have since been shot full of enough holes to push the timeline out by at least another year. The SEC will not acknowledge this, but everyone pretty much agrees that the decade-long effort to converge U. S. GAAP and IFRS has been marked by many more failures than successes. Convergence Phases II and III — Would take an additional 5 to 7 years and require the FASB to formulate plans for merging active IFRS projects into U. S. GAAP. If FASB-style "due process" can't get it all done, someone is supposed to be able to figure out a way to pick up all the pieces. Endorsement — Simple math combined with the most obvious lessons learned from recent history leads to the inescapable conclusion that the "endorsement" phase can't even begin for at least another decade. At that point, the FASB is supposed...
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...Share Capital It is the amount of money contributed by the shareholders for the furtherance of objectives of the company for which it was created. * Equity / Preference Share * Par value * Number of Shares in each category * Total amount TYPES OF SHARE CAPITAL * AUTHORISED CAPITAL * ISSUED CAPITAL * SUBSCRIBED CAPITAL * CALLED UP CAPITAL * PAID-UP CAPITAL AUTHORISED CAPITAL * MAXIMUM amount of share capital that the company is authorised by its constitutional documents to issue to shareholders. * Part of the authorised capital can (and frequently does) remain unissued. * EXAMPLE: AS PER THE CONSTITUTIONAL DOCUMENT OF A NEW COMPANY ‘XYZ.LTD’ IT CAN ISSUE A TOTAL OF 10 LAKH SHARES OF RS 10 EACH FACE VALUE/PAR VALUE: IT IS THE FIXED DENOMINATION AT WHICH A COMPANY ISSUES ITS SHARES. THE FACE VALUE IS MENTIONED ON THE SHARE CERTIFICATE. ISSUED CAPITAL * THE PART OF AUTHORISED CAPITAL WHICH IS OFFERED TO THE PUBLIC FOR SUBSCRITION * EXAMPLE : * OUT OF 10 LAKH SHARES, COMPANY ‘XYZ LTD.’ ISSUES 7 LAKH SHARES OF RS 10 EACH SUBSCRIBED CAPITAL * PART OF ISSUED CAPITAL THAT IS APPLIED FOR BY PROSPECTIVE SHARE HOLDERS & ALLOTED BY THE COMPANY * UNSUBSCRIBED CAPITAL :BALANCE OF ISSUED CAPITAL NOT SUBSCRIBED BY THE PUBLIC * EXAMPLE : SITUATION 1: UNDERSUBSCRIPTION ‘XYZ LTD.’ GETS PROSPECTS FOR 6 LAKH SHARES SITUATION 2: OVERSUBSCRIPTION ‘XYZ LTD’ GETS PROSPECTS FOR 8 LAKH SHARES ...
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...Part 4 Summary of Convergence Process Part 5 Pros & Cons of Convergence Part 6 The reasons for differences in accounting practice ww.ifrs.org + The International Accounting Standards Board + The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation + Objective – a single set of global financial reporting standards + Aim – convergence between national standards and international standards + IFRS Framework + IFRS SMEs + Supported by the Group of 20 Leaders (G20) who, at their September 2009 meeting in Pittsburgh, US. Country Status for listed companies as of April 2010 Argentina Required for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2011 Australia Brazil Canada Required for all private sector reporting entities and as the basis for public sector reporting since 2005 Required for consolidated financial statements of banks and listed companies from 31 December 2010 and for individual company accounts progressively since January 2008 Required from 1 January 2011 for all listed entities and permitted for private sector entities including not-for-profit organizations Country China Status for listed companies as of April 2010 Substantially converged national standards European All member states of the EU are required to use IFRSs as adopted by the EU for listed Union companies since 2005 France Germany India Indonesia Italy Japan Mexico Required via EU adoption and implementation process since 2005 Required via EU adoption and implementation...
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...The road to international reporting The Convergence of GAAP and IFRS | Leroy Meadows Advanced Accounting | The road to international reporting The Convergence of GAAP and IFRS | Leroy Meadows Advanced Accounting | The Road to International Reporting The convergence of a rules-based approach and a principles-based approach in relation to accounting and the dissemination of financial information is not something to be taken lightly. With the need for convergence increasing due to globalization, there are sure to be some contentious issues that must be addressed if convergence is to succeed. While the main issue for those who use a rules-based approach is the issue of comparability, there are other issues that must be taken into account as well. This paper will provide a brief history of globalization as well as the response of the United States in the wake of massive corporate fraud between 2000-2002. The differences between a rules-based approach and a principles-based approach and some difficulties that arise when trying to merge two different systems of accounting will also be examined. Lastly, this paper will address why convergence is not only probable, but necessary. The Need to Be One The modern push for globalization has occurred in two stages. The World Trade Organization, in its 2008 report, provides a chronology of this push which shows the first stage of globalization starting in the mid-19th century and continuing until the start of WWI. The...
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...The contribution of IFRS to UK accounting standards Name Institutional Affiliation INTRODUCTION International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are principles based on standards and the interpretations implemented by the Board of International Accounting Standards as the global financial reporting framework. IFRS are guidelines and definitions that require to be applied in the preparation of financial statements by the international companies. Before IFRS was referred to as International Accounting Standards (IAS), then in 2001 the board of the international accounting standards (IASB) took the control of setting the IAS. Then the IASB developed the standard known as IFRS. According to (Shim, Siegel, Shim & Shim, 2012), the designing of IFRS is done as a common language to be used by business affairs so that the accounts of the company are comparable and understandable across the international boundaries. They result from the rapidly growing trade and international shareholding, and they offer best solutions to the companies trading in several countries. Many different national accounting standards are progressively being replaced by the IFRS. They provide set rules to be followed by the accountants in the provision and maintenance of the accounts books which are reliable, comparable, relevant and understandable as per the users external and internal. IFRS was adopted in the UK in 2005, and all the public companies were required to use the IFRS policies for...
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...Prepared Remarks by Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), to the US Chamber of Commerce Event, “‘The Future of Financial Reporting: Convergence or Not?”’ Washington, DC, USA 10 March 2011 I would like to thank the US Chamber of Commerce and its Center for Capital Market Competitiveness for organising today’s event on the future of financial reporting. I have a great affinity with the United States and have always enjoyed my time here. With that in mind, it is not surprising that we at the IASB and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have worked so successfully in partnership over the past decade. I am delighted to present at the same event as my friend and colleague, Leslie Seidman. This event on the future of financial reporting is timely. Years from now, we will look back on 2011 as a year when the future path of financial reporting was determined. There are two key activities coming to a head this year. First, the IASB and the FASB are now nearing the completion of a nine-year programme to improve International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and to bring about their convergence. Second, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will make a decision on the use of IFRSs by US domestic companies. The SEC’s decision will be felt well beyond the borders of the United States. Today, more than 100 countries either require or permit the use of IFRSs for listed...
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...Accession into a monetary union has implications that reach far below the surface of the requirements outlined by a simple agreement or membership criteria. While there are undeniable benefits to some member states, great sacrifices must be made before, during, and after the integration process which eventually render a nation powerless over its monetary policy. Currently, every European nation is faced with the question of whether to join European Monetary Union; however, the eagerness with which new member states join is paralleled by the resistance of several holdouts to adoption of the common currency. With the unprecedented growth rate of the Euro-zone over the past decade and the number of nations currently making the required policy adjustments, core members need to be aware of the motivating factors fueling the growth in the number of new member states. The European Union is experiencing an adverse selection scenario in which nations seeking increased stability are willing to make the sacrifices that membership entails while the redistributive effect of wealth from existing to new relatively poorer member states is an implicit benefit of the current system. When Paul Henri Spaak of Belgium, Christian Pineau of France, Joseph Luns of the Netherlands, Antonion Segni from Italy, Joseph Bech from Luxemburg, and Konrad Adenauer from the Republic of Germany signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957 creating the European Economic Community(EEC), their long-term objective was the...
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