UK And US Financial Regulators Sign Agreements On IFRS

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

27 April 2007

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, the United Kingdom Financial Services Authority (FSA), and the United Kingdom Financial Reporting Council (FRC) on Wednesday signed a protocol for implementing the Work Plan between the SEC and the Committee of European Securities Regulators to share information on application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by issuers listed in the UK and the US.

At separate meetings with the FSA and FRC in London, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox executed the Protocol with FSA Chairman Callum McCarthy and UK FRC Chief Executive Paul Boyle to facilitate implementation of the SEC-CESR Work Plan.

The information to be shared concerns the application of IFRS in the financial statements of issuers listed in the UK and registered with the SEC.

According to the SEC:

"The world's capital markets stand to benefit significantly from widespread acceptance and use of global accounting standards that are high-quality, comprehensive, and rigorously applied. With issuers and investors alike increasingly looking beyond their borders for opportunities to invest and raise capital, they are typically seeking the accuracy, timeliness, and consistency in the reporting of financial information that such standards could provide."

Chairman Cox added:

"This agreement provides the framework for the confidential exchange of information between the SEC staff and the staff of the FRC, which is charged with reviewing issuers' published financial statements in the UK. High-quality and consistent application of IFRS is critical to the future of global accounting standards. Sharing information under this protocol should help to promote this goal."

Recommended