August 06, 2009
Rock on Sir Tweedie!
"Tweedie Warns of 2011 Deadline for IFRS Choice"
Good luck with that Sir Tweedie!
With the change in administration, we now have an orientation towards an expansion of government influence like nothing we have seen before in the U.S.
This administration is seeking more power over private institutions and directing increased efforts toward enforcement. They will not have the time, interest or bandwidth to fight the battle over IFRS conversion.
The average US public company sees very few advantages to IFRS. They believe they have the best accounting standards in the world. The conversion costs along with litigation concerns will overwhelm this agenda. Even though Sir Tweedie is correct in stating that litigation is more dangerous under a prescriptive system than one based on principles!
See the excerpt below:
..."He said that firms were worried about lawsuits and joked that lawyers were more plentiful than mice in the U.S. However, he argued that it would be easier to defend professional judgment and principles-based standards in court. “If you ask U.S. litigation attorneys if this sort of system will actually increase litigation, the answer is no,” said Tweedie. “Which would you rather defend? I can defend a principle. Miss something on page 1,793, you’re finished. That’s a big difference.”...
This issue may be the one that finally isolates the US in a way that causes an even larger decrease in power in financial markets and world prestige. This administration has proven itself to be protectionist with its "Buy American" provisions in its latest stimulus bill.
This does not bode well for an informed world view and integration with the rest of the world, regarding accounting standards.
It is indeed a shame that the previous SEC chairman Christopher Cox was unable to expedite the IFRS discussion. He was pilloried by both parties, but he had the right ideas on IFRS and did the US markets a big service by allowing foreign private issuers to file financial statements in IFRS without reconciliation to US GAAP. This was smart. But that was that. No more activity on the topic since he was tossed out.
Ah yes Sir Tweedie, you are most certainly correct. The US should get on board with IFRS, but it will be a big surprise if that happens any time soon.
If your company is moving to IFRS and needs a cost effective solution, and wants to do it in a sensible and cost effective way, contact http://www.ifrspartner.com/ for more information on IFRS Partner® for companies beginning their conversion efforts. To find out more about events demonstrating these solutions, see http://ifrspartner.com/pages/events.htm. If your company has to certify internal controls under NI 52-109 or SOX 404 and needs the integration of IFRS and ICFR from one provider, see http://www.compliancepartner.ca/ for more information.
Good luck with that Sir Tweedie!
With the change in administration, we now have an orientation towards an expansion of government influence like nothing we have seen before in the U.S.
This administration is seeking more power over private institutions and directing increased efforts toward enforcement. They will not have the time, interest or bandwidth to fight the battle over IFRS conversion.
The average US public company sees very few advantages to IFRS. They believe they have the best accounting standards in the world. The conversion costs along with litigation concerns will overwhelm this agenda. Even though Sir Tweedie is correct in stating that litigation is more dangerous under a prescriptive system than one based on principles!
See the excerpt below:
..."He said that firms were worried about lawsuits and joked that lawyers were more plentiful than mice in the U.S. However, he argued that it would be easier to defend professional judgment and principles-based standards in court. “If you ask U.S. litigation attorneys if this sort of system will actually increase litigation, the answer is no,” said Tweedie. “Which would you rather defend? I can defend a principle. Miss something on page 1,793, you’re finished. That’s a big difference.”...
This issue may be the one that finally isolates the US in a way that causes an even larger decrease in power in financial markets and world prestige. This administration has proven itself to be protectionist with its "Buy American" provisions in its latest stimulus bill.
This does not bode well for an informed world view and integration with the rest of the world, regarding accounting standards.
It is indeed a shame that the previous SEC chairman Christopher Cox was unable to expedite the IFRS discussion. He was pilloried by both parties, but he had the right ideas on IFRS and did the US markets a big service by allowing foreign private issuers to file financial statements in IFRS without reconciliation to US GAAP. This was smart. But that was that. No more activity on the topic since he was tossed out.
Ah yes Sir Tweedie, you are most certainly correct. The US should get on board with IFRS, but it will be a big surprise if that happens any time soon.
If your company is moving to IFRS and needs a cost effective solution, and wants to do it in a sensible and cost effective way, contact http://www.ifrspartner.com/ for more information on IFRS Partner® for companies beginning their conversion efforts. To find out more about events demonstrating these solutions, see http://ifrspartner.com/pages/events.htm. If your company has to certify internal controls under NI 52-109 or SOX 404 and needs the integration of IFRS and ICFR from one provider, see http://www.compliancepartner.ca/ for more information.
