Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
10-2009
Abstract
Public companies in the United States face a new challenge. As set forth in its roadmap for implementation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is considering the potential use of financial statements prepared in accordance with international financial reporting standards (“IFRS”.) The chief goal of these global standards is to establish a uniform system to improve comparability of companies’ financial positions. For decades, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) have been the framework of financial statement preparation for public companies in the U.S. The movement to IFRS represents an unprecedented change in the basis of financial reporting, since IFRS would supersede GAAP. This paper examines the current status of the SEC plan and a variety of issues raised by the U.S. transition to IFRS. Some fundamental accounting differences between IFRS and GAAP, the impact of IFRS on financial statements, the benefits and costs of adoption and the obstacles to implementation of IFRS in the U.S. are among the issues discussed.
Recommended Citation
Harris, Cindy K., "At a Crossroads: The Impact of International Financial Reporting Standards in the U.S." (2009). Business and Economics Faculty Publications. 31.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/bus_econ_fac/31
Included in
Accounting Commons, Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Corporate Finance Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons, International Business Commons
Comments
The paper available here for download was originally published in the 2009 Proceedings of the Northeastern Association of Business, Economics, and Technology, pp. 130-136.
Presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting, October 29th and 30th, 2009.