Chipman Sees SEC's IFRS Decision Revealing Shortly

On June 1st 2012, the CEO of Grant Thornton named Stephen Chipman says about the regulation and accounting standards. The G-20 ministers of finance have given a deadline to the accounting standard-setters of mid-2013 to get their meeting work done. Thus, the SEC is pressured and has been asked to determine the incorporation of IFRS into the financial reporting system of the U.S. Stephen Chipman is expected that the SEC will make a decision early; however he has this belief that the change will be slow. In an interview he said that he senses that the SEC is coming closer to a position. He also said that he doesn’t have any inside information and that nothing he said is based on any perception. He is just predicting things. He mentioned that during this year in sometime there will be further clarified. He also said that this is no aggressive timeline or anything. He says that the timeline agrees to the reality that the investors, preparers and issuers are not really willing for IFRS to be in the United States. These preparers, investors and issuers want some time and they want it so that they are able to manage the disturbance costs related to the change.

Chipman expects that the SEC will consider this issue and will involve FASB in this process. He said that the SEC will reach to a compromise and will give FASB a more meaningful role which maintains its ability of having had proper power and influence on the standards which are circulated for the use in U.S. Chipman has this doubt that U.S intends to take the risk of losing the seats on the IASB, but IASB is unwilling to have those seats. Chipman’s point of view is that ISAB would be in a favor by taking more time but the board would suggest that the U.S should be more insistent in adding in IFRS. He believes that the U.S shouldn’t lose the seats and at the same moment, he says that the other countries in the world and the Europeans will face a hard time in finishing the process without the U.S that is the largest economy being a part of it.