SEC’s Recent Guidance On GAAP/IFRS Convergence Timeline

On February 24, 2010, the Security Exchange Commission ("Commission") issued a statement reaffirming its support of establishing a "single set of high-quality global accounting standards."¹ The Commission continues to encourage convergence of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("U.S. GAAP") and International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as an effective means of achieving this goal. To this end, the Commission authorized the creation of the "Work Plan" to serve as a guide to assist the Commission in its evaluation of the impact of using IFRS on U.S. companies.

Specifically, the Work Plan focuses on:

• Analyzing IFRS in its current format and how it will function after the completion of a number of convergence projects between U.S. and international accounting standards-setters.