All businesses need a base — a set of standards from which transactions are measured — regardless of location, subsidiaries and partnerships. And because business is global, this question has come to the forefront of commerce: Would it be more proficient, efficient and convenient to have one single set of accounting standards that would apply to any business, in any location, at any point?

This is the thesis of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), an accounting protocol that could become the United States’ standard for the preparation of financial statements for public entities. Currently, American businesses follow the United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP) as the basis for processing,