Dec. 17th SEC Roundtable on the Use of IFRSs in U.S. Capital Markets
On December 17, 2007, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a roundtable discussion on the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in the capital markets of the United States. Specifically, the roundtable focused on "practical issues surrounding the use of IFRS in the U.S. in recent years and its potential expanded use in future years." This roundtable and an earlier roundtable on December 13, 2007 (see my blog post) relate directly to the SEC's "Concept Release On Allowing U.S. Issuers To Prepare Financial Statements In Accordance With International Financial Reporting Standards," which I previously wrote about here.
The December 17th roundtable consisted of two separate panel discussions. Each panel included individuals representing various stakeholders in the capital markets. Both panels addressed the issues of whether, when, and how the SEC should permit or require U.S. companies to transition to IFRSs, with the first panel exploring the issues from the perspective of U.S. capital market participants and the second panel exploring the issues from a global perspective.
Webcast archives and a raw transcript of both panel discussions may be found here.
Commentary
I would like to say again that I applaud the SEC for conducting the roundtables and that I have high regard for the individuals who participated in the roundtable panel discussions. I attended the December 17th roundtable in person and had the opportunity to talk to several panelists with whom I was not previously acquainted.
Despite the subject matter of this roundtable being somewhat different from that of the December 13th roundtable, the nature of both roundtables was disappointingly similar -- as I put it in last week's post, "rambling and disjointed; occasionally nonsensical but occasionally brilliant as well."
Prior to the roundtables, I had started to suspect that most individuals and organizations who express opinions on the use of IFRSs in the United States actually have no idea what they are talking about. Now, after observing the roundtable discussions, I am convinced of it. More importantly, now I know why -- that is, why there is so much confusion and disagreement about the use of IFRSs in the United States. Understanding the "why" puts me in a better position to fulfill the purpose of this blog (and my forthcoming book), which is to educate corporate managers about the growing impact of the global convergence of financial reporting standards on financial reporting in the U.S.
I have concluded that misunderstandings about IFRSs represent the biggest obstacles to understanding the phenomenon of Convergence and its impact on financial reporting in the U.S. The roundtable discussions have inspired me to begin to cataloging dozens of misunderstandings that folks have about the role of IFRSs in the phenomenon of Convergence. Going forward, my blog posts will focus on addressing those misunderstandings.
Dec. 17th SEC Roundtable on the Use of IFRSs in U.S. Capital Markets
On December 17, 2007, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a roundtable discussion on the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in the capital markets of the United States. Specifically, the roundtable focused on "practical issues surrounding the use of IFRS in the U.S. in recent years and its potential expanded use in future years." This roundtable and an earlier roundtable on December 13, 2007 (see my blog post) relate directly to the SEC's "Concept Release On Allowing U.S. Issuers To Prepare Financial Statements In Accordance With International Financial Reporting Standards," which I previously wrote about here.
The December 17th roundtable consisted of two separate panel discussions. Each panel included individuals representing various stakeholders in the capital markets. Both panels addressed the issues of whether, when, and how the SEC should permit or require U.S. companies to transition to IFRSs, with the first panel exploring the issues from the perspective of U.S. capital market participants and the second panel exploring the issues from a global perspective.
Webcast archives and a raw transcript of both panel discussions may be found here.
Commentary
I would like to say again that I applaud the SEC for conducting the roundtables and that I have high regard for the individuals who participated in the roundtable panel discussions. I attended the December 17th roundtable in person and had the opportunity to talk to several panelists with whom I was not previously acquainted.
Despite the subject matter of this roundtable being somewhat different from that of the December 13th roundtable, the nature of both roundtables was disappointingly similar -- as I put it in last week's post, "rambling and disjointed; occasionally nonsensical but occasionally brilliant as well."
Prior to the roundtables, I had started to suspect that most individuals and organizations who express opinions on the use of IFRSs in the United States actually have no idea what they are talking about. Now, after observing the roundtable discussions, I am convinced of it. More importantly, now I know why -- that is, why there is so much confusion and disagreement about the use of IFRSs in the United States. Understanding the "why" puts me in a better position to fulfill the purpose of this blog (and my forthcoming book), which is to educate corporate managers about the growing impact of the global convergence of financial reporting standards on financial reporting in the U.S.
I have concluded that misunderstandings about IFRSs represent the biggest obstacles to understanding the phenomenon of Convergence and its impact on financial reporting in the U.S. The roundtable discussions have inspired me to begin to cataloging dozens of misunderstandings that folks have about the role of IFRSs in the phenomenon of Convergence. Going forward, my blog posts will focus on addressing those misunderstandings.