Who’s On Board Today
Across the globe, more than 12,000 companies in 113 nations follow IFRS. IFRS was originally developed by the IASB, which is an independent group based in London. By 2011, India and Canada are expected to utilize IFRS standards. The following year, the same is expected of Mexico. The United States — specifically the SEC — is evaluating whether the adoption of IFRS should occur, and, if it does, the organization is assessing the implications for American businesses.

The SEC has suggested a roadmap for adoption of IFRS by U.S. public companies. The milestones are arduous and specific, but if the guidelines for IFRS can be outlined in a pragmatic manner, specified issuers could be required to use IFRS in the near future. The original roadmap would require adoption of IFRS by large accelerated filers by 2014, and other accelerated filers by 2015. The remaining would be required to use IFRS by 2016. According to Kerr, “the timeline in the SEC roadmap will almost certainly change – allowing more

time for the convergence of US GAAP and IFRS and more time for companies to prepare. But I still believe IFRS adoption is a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if.’ ”

But until the SEC enacts the rule to transition to IFRS, all U.S. public companies will continue to work under U.S. GAAP when preparing their financial statements.