SEC's Last Say on IFRS Work Plan: They're Not Saying

For the past five years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has toiled away on a thorny issue: Is the United States ready for the widespread use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)? This project has been plagued with delays. But on July 13, 2012, the Office of the Chief Ac-countant (OCA) released its hotly anticipated “final report” on the work plan for consideration of IFRS in U.S. financial reporting. However, the report was not what many expected: a recommendation on whether IFRS should be an integral part of U.S. capital markets. But the final report did highlight the big issues that still need to be resolved before the SEC ever makes its determination. For that reason alone, say the authors of this article, it's worth digging into the final report-and also to find clues about where the whole process may be going.