Charted Financial Institute Criticizes SEC’s Report on IFRS
The CFA Institute has summarized the problems that are originating from SEC’s staff related around incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into United States and has released it in the form of a report.
The report points towards multiple areas, which according to the Charted Financial Institute requires a lot of evaluation and analysis. It also indicates that the final report is organized and comprehensive on multiple important themes related to prices as well as obstacles that the issuers will have to deal with while changing from United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to International Financial Reporting Standards.
But the report also suggests that the observations related to preparedness of investors, impact of regulation, impacts of issuer as well as human capital readiness provide commentary on existing circumstances that in CFA’s view will further evolve as and when a decision around adopting IFRS is taken.
The report also indicates the views of the Charted Financial Institute. It clarifies that the final report’s readers only get observations and data but they do not have any indication regarding the manner in which they would be evaluated and weighed.
CFA’s report highlights numerous evaluative and analytical questions which SEC’s staff related report fail to answer. Some of the questions include:
Which particular dimensions of the IFRS work plan designed by SEC must be recommended?
Which challenges, if there are any, are insurmountable and what are the reasons behind it?
What kind of actions should or can be taken for addressing the obstacles or challenges? Who should take such actions and during what course of time?
To what particular extent should ‘regulatory capture’ of United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles serve as a deterrent or obstacle when it comes to adopting financial accounting principles that have been designed to offer service to investor and not regulators?
CFA’s report also concludes that SEC’s final report has left stakeholders wondering what should be SEC’s next set of steps. Stakeholders are also thinking if there will be any sort of recommendation or not and if there will be any recommendation, then what would be the timing of the same. CFA stated that it is important for SEC to find a way further because if it fails to offer a proper direction, then it would mean that IFRS will not be incorporated in the United States.