by Brooke Masters, Basel : Financial Times
Schapiro told the technical committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions in Basel, Switzerland, that regulators would announce a plan in the autumn for moving toward that goal.
“We must not lose sight of the fact that the purpose of accounting standards is to provide a clear and accurate picture of a company’s financial condition for investors ... I remain committed to the goal of a global set of high-quality accounting standards,” Mrs Schapiro said.
The US remains the most significant country not to have adopted the use of the international standards promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board, preferring the GAAP standards set by the US-based Financial Accounting Standards Board. US officials have long promised to work towards harmonisation.
Under Mrs Schapiro’s predecessor, the SEC proposed a roadmap suggesting that: "US companies might be able to begin using International Financial Reporting Standards, as soon as 2014". But the global financial crash widened some of the gaps between US and international standards.
US standard setters in April softened fair value accounting rules for banks, which have allowed them to avoid taking paper losses on assets they intend to hold. When the IASB declined to follow suit, some European politicians complained that their financial institutions were at a competitive disadvantage.
"Now, convergence is once again at the top of the agenda".
The Group of 20 leading industrialised nations agreed last month in Pittsburgh on the need for common standards by 2011.
Mrs Schapiro pledged the SEC would do its part, saying that the regulator was reviewing the extensive feedback it had received on last year’s roadmap proposals. She also urged the assembled regulators to fight hard for the regulatory changes needed to prevent a repeat of last autumn’s financial collapse.
“We, as regulators, must not lose our focus on reforming the system,” Schapiro said.
Jane Diplock, chairman of both IOSCO and the New Zealand Securities regulator, praised Mrs Schapiro for pushing ahead on accounting, saying she was “optimistic” that a single standard would be the result.
