Changes in filing requirements and accounting standards will drive conversion to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in an organization, but the process of conversion will impact general business information technology systems, according to an analysis published by KPMG, International Financial Reporting Standards: The information systems impacts of IFRS. Every system within an organization that uses financial information will be affected by conversion to

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a revised Exposure Draft (ED) of a proposed Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, Earnings per Share — an amendment of FASB Statement No. 128. The proposed Statement seeks to improve financial reporting by clarifying and simplifying the method of calculating earnings per share (EPS), while promoting the international convergence of accounting standards by eliminating major differences that currently exist between FASB Statement No. 128, Earnings per Share, and International Accounting Standard (IAS) 33, Earnings per Share.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will host a roundtable on Monday, August 4 to analyze the performance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) during the recent period of market turmoil."This roundtable will provide the Commission with valuable insights from investors, issuers, auditors, and others about the way that both IFRS and U.S. GAAP performed in the context of the current pressures on the marketplace," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox.

In a speech to accounting professors and corporate executives at PwC University for Faculty, PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner Dennis Nally announced the firm's release this month of a full suite of educational tools and programs designed to help American accounting students learn the fundamentals of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS describes the financial reporting treatment long used by companies outside the United States and which is expected to replace U.S.

The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation today announced the release of the IFRS Taxonomy 2008. The IFRS Taxonomy 2008 is a complete translation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as published in the IFRS Bound Volume 2008 into XBRL, an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) that is used to communicate information between businesses. The taxonomy is published in the same languages as the IFRS Bound Volume 2008 and includes support material such as the Taxonomy Architecture Paper and the Taxonomy Extenders Guide.

The "date certain" for conversion to International Reporting Standards (IFRS) may be as soon as 2014, according to Kenneth Marshall, a partner in E&Y's Assurance & Advisory Business Services practice, which, with three-year comparative reporting, will mean that U.S. companies should begin the process of adapting their accounting and other business systems within the next eighteen months.

Ernst & Young LLP has announced the formation of the Ernst & Young Academic Resource Center, a new collaboration between the firm's professionals and university faculty.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants released a draft proposal for public comment outlining proposed content updates for the CPA exam. The proposal increases emphasis on ethics and provides more in-depth descriptions of the skills necessary for entry-level CPAs. It proposes including International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the exam for the first time. "The CPA Examination tests the knowledge and skills that are relevant for entry-level CPAs. In doing so, the public is protected," said Craig Mills, executive director of examinations for the AICPA.

PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S. Chairman and Senior Partner Dennis Nally called for a shift in accounting standards away from U.S. GAAP to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in a speech Tuesday at the Union League Club in New York. In his speech, Nally urged members of Financial Executive International to embrace the rapid and often disruptive changes brought about by globalization as an opportunity to address systemic problems that impact America's long term competitiveness.