The Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Mary Jo White recently commented on the significance of high-quality accounting standards. The speech noted the need to support continued work toward the globally accepted accounting standards. In recent months, representatives of the Office of the Chief Accountant within the Commission had noted that the effort to move toward IFRS was not considered a near-term priority. Chair White offered compelling statistics. For example, she noted that U.S. investors invest directly in the securities of many foreign private issuers that apply IFRS in filings with the Commission. As of September 2016, these companies alone represented a worldwide market capitalization in excess of $7 trillion across more than 500 companies. As a result, Chair White noted that work toward continued convergence of standards and priorities between the FASB and the IASB should be encouraged. See the full speech at: https://www.sec.gov/news/statement/white-2016-01-05.html.
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