Ok, I was going to leave IFRS alone for a week, but I couldn’t resist this bit of news. WebCPA covered the testimony on IFRS to the Senate Banking Committee. The AICPA came out in favor but the former SEC Chief Accountant, Lynn Turner came out against it.
At the hearing, the AICPA Vice Chairman for Professional Standards and Services, Chuck Landes told the sub-committee “One common accounting language will benefit all participants in the capital markets. A single worldwide set of accounting standards would help investors by facilitating the comparison of financial results.”
However, former SEC Chief Accountant Lynn Turner warned that adopting IFRS could put US investors at risk. “I believe strongly if the SEC reconciliation is eliminated, it will also eliminate the incentive for standard-setters to work together,” he said. “Indeed, each of the standard-setters is likely to go their own way, and I suspect within 10 years, if not sooner, FASB will cease to exist, leaving the U.S. without a viable private standard-setter responsive to the needs of U.S. investors.”
