Cox on IFRS

An excerpt from SEC Chair Cox's April 26 address about convergence of accounting rules at the American Academy in Berlin and the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany:

Let's consider a concrete example: the move that's afoot here in Germany, throughout Europe, and around the world for a truly global set of high quality accounting standards. The vision behind International Financial Reporting Standards is that a single worldwide set of standards will permit investors around the world to benefit from a high level of comparability and a consistently high level of quality in financial reporting. It would eliminate the need for investors and analysts to try to understand financial statements that are prepared using the different accounting standards of many jurisdictions. And it would eliminate one of the significant barriers to raising capital outside one's borders.

IFRS promises to integrate our markets. But that promise is jeopardized if IFRS isn't applied faithfully and consistently across jurisdictions. Regulators must beware the impulse to develop nationally-tailored versions of IFRS, and we must cooperate with one another in implementing