SEC Issues a Work Plan to Evaluate Potentially Incorporating IFRS into the U.S. Financial Reporting System

On February 24, 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reaffirmed its continuing support for a single set of high-quality, globally accepted accounting standards and for the convergence of U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

The SEC described the issues that need additional consideration before that goal is achieved and released an SEC staff work plan to evaluate the effect that using IFRS would have on the U.S. financial reporting system.

In 2011, after the SEC staff's fact-gathering is done as outlined in the work plan and the convergence projects identified in the IASB/FASB Memorandum of Understanding are successfully completed, the SEC will determine whether, and if so, how to incorporate IFRS into the U.S. financial reporting system.