Global Accounting Bodies Rethink FASB, GAAP Convergence —Journal of Accountancy

IFRS Foundation Trustee: Don’t Wave White Flag on Cooperation

Global accounting standard setters acknowledge that completion of the convergence projects is unlikely to happen in the near term, but progress can still be made to closely align International Financial Reporting Standards and U.S. GAAP, the Journal of Accountancy reports.   Here’s more:

The remaining convergence projects facing FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) need to be wrapped up soon – even if the boards fall short of completely harmonizing their standards, an IFRS Foundation trustee and a U.K. accountancy body said separately this week.

. . . And IFRS Foundation Trustee James Quigley said in an interview that the current convergence projects need to be finished soon, but that the IASB’s focus on the nations that use its standards should not come at the expense of continued cooperation with the United States. Quigley also said the convergence process needs to be appreciated for its progress in moving IFRS and U.S. GAAP closer together, rather than being criticized for the differences.

“If the ambition is a single set of high-quality, globally accepted, and, in my view, principle-based standards, we’re closer now than we were five years ago,” said Quigley, a former global chief executive officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. “And five years from now, we’re going to be closer again. And the capital markets and investors will be better for it.”

GAAP and FASB Convergence Isn’t Imminent, But This Year Has Seen Real Progress