SEC is still exploring IFRS — SEC has a new timetable which delays the possible use of IFRS by US public companies until 2015 instead of the original 2014 date.

On February 24, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement that lays out its position regarding global accounting standards and makes it clear that the Commission continues to believe that a single set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards would benefit U.S investors.

SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro stated "For nearly 30 years, the Commission has promoted a single set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards, which would advance the dual goals of improving financial reporting within the U.S. and reducing country-by-country disparities in financial reporting. But supporting this goal is only the beginning of the discussion, not the end."

The Commission also directed its staff to execute a Work Plan, the results of which will aid the Commission in its evaluation of the impact that the use of IFRS by U.S. companies would have on the U.S. securities market. Included in this Work Plan will be consideration of IFRS, as it exists today and after the completion of various "convergence projects" currently underway between U.S. and international accounting standards-setters. By 2011, assuming completion of these convergence projects and the staff's Work Plan, the Commission will decide whether to incorporate IFRS into the U.S. financial reporting system, and if so, when and how.

Among other things, the staff's Work Plan will address many issues including:

• Determining whether IFRS is sufficiently developed and consistent in application for use as the single set of accounting standards in the U.S. reporting system.
• Ensuring that accounting standards are set by an independent standard-setter and for the benefit of investors.
• Investor understanding and education regarding IFRS, and how it differs from U.S. GAAP.
• Understanding whether U.S. laws or regulations, outside of the securities laws, for example tax laws and regulatory reporting, would be affected by a change in accounting standards.
• Understanding the impact on companies, both large and small, including changes to accounting systems, changes to contractual arrangements, corporate governance considerations and litigation contingencies.
• Determining whether the people who prepare and audit financial statements are sufficiently prepared, through education and experience, to make the conversion to IFRS.

The SEC staff will provide public progress reports on the Work Plan, as well as the status of the FASB and IASB convergence projects, beginning no later than October 2010 and frequently thereafter until the work is complete.

A common concern U.S. Companies express is that they would need approximately a four- to five-year timeframe to successfully implement a change in their financial reporting systems to incorporate IFRS. Accordingly, if the Commission determines in 2011 to incorporate IFRS into the U.S. financial reporting system, the first time that U.S. companies would report under such a system would be no earlier than 2015. The Work Plan would further evaluate this timeline.