US public company CPA’s are delaying
preparations to adopt IFRS until the US Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) issues a decision on US convergence of the global
standards.
The American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants (AICPA) IFRS
Readiness Survey, found 76% of public company CPA’s are
now delaying IFRS preparations, an increase of 13% from the 63% who
were delaying six months ago.
“We’ve seen significant movement in the
readiness of US CPAs for introduction of IFRS in the US in the
three years since 2008 when we first introduced our website
IFRS.com and began this tracking survey,” AICPA senior vice
president for member competency and development Arleen Thomas
said.
“While most AICPA members still support
adoption of IFRS, our survey shows a slight reversal in readiness
gains as CPAs await progress in the convergence of US and
international standards and a clear timeline from the SEC.”
The survey also found more than half (53%) of
respondents support an SEC mandate requiring use of IFRS in the US,
and another 23% think IFRS should be offered as a financial
reporting option for public companies.
The IFRS Readiness Survey was
conducted via internet poll between 19 April and 11 May with 1,351
respondents.
