The world’s largest professional accountancy body and the chief
executive of Deloitte Global have added their voices to the call
for a timeline for the introduction of IFRS in the US.
Barry Melancon, president and chief executive of the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), told a forum of
accounting and finance authorities that there needs to be a
clear-cut schedule for the US profession to adopt IFRS. “Awareness
is growing among US accountants that IFRS is coming for public
companies and most believe it will take three to five years to get
ready,” Melancon said.
Deloitte Global chief executive Jim Quigley has also urged the
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to set a time frame for
the transition towards IFRS in the US in order to allow the market
time to prepare for the radical shift. Quigley expressed his views
to the International Accounting Bulletin as Deloitte’s US
firm released research that indicates companies are warming towards
adopting the global standards.
“I believe the pattern that has been followed in other capital
markets is a pattern that has enabled the smooth and non-disruptive
transition from one set of standards to another,” he said. “That
pattern has been declaring a certain date when all registrants
would be required to file in accordance with those new standards
and having a very clear roadmap to arrive at that destination.”
