Accounting Standards Get SEC Boost

The goal of harmonizing U.S. accounting standards with international rules moved a step closer last week when the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a proposal to require at least some U.S. companies to use International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, beginning in 2014.

Currently,

"The increasing integration of the world's capital markets, which has resulted in two-thirds of U.S. investors owning securities issued by foreign companies that report their financial information using IFRS, has made the establishment of a single set of high-quality accounting standards a matter of growing importance," the SEC said in its announcement.

Once the new guidelines are published in the Federal Register, the public will have 60 days to respond. Last week's announcement did not say when the guidelines will appear in the Federal Register. - Martin C Daks