The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has announced the launch of a series of periodic webcasts focusing on topics of importance to its constituents. The first FASB webcast, entitled Towards a Global Reporting System: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?, is scheduled for Tuesday, January 8, 2008, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (EST), and will feature a panel of experts discussing international convergence of accounting standards.Panelists Robert Herz, Peter Bridgman, Greg Jonas, and Sam Ranzilla will discuss the implications of moving the U.S.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has written a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission recommending the SEC take comprehensive steps to harmonize U.S. and international financial reporting, including allowing American public companies to report financial results using international accounting standards."The AICPA supports the goal of a single set of high-quality, comprehensive accounting standards to be used by public companies in the preparation of transparent and comparable financial reports throughout the world," said AICPA Chairman Randy G.

Before the dust had even settled on their ruling to end the requirement that foreign companies listing in the U.S. reconcile financial statements based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month signaled its intention to consider allowing U.S. companies the option to use IFRS in place of U.S. GAAP. The commission initiated discussion through a "Concept Release on Allowing U.S.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced its intentions to issue a ruling this summer designed to give foreign private issuers a choice between IFRS and U.S. GAAP. In addition, the SEC plans is considering providing U.S. issuers the alternative to use IFRS.Current SEC rules require that foreign private issuers who report in IFRS, or any other non-U.S. GAAP, provide a reconciliation of those financial statements to U.S. GAAP.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR) on Wednesday published a work plan to be implemented immediately as a guide for the SEC-CESR Dialogue. The focus of the work plan is the application of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the U.S.

Acknowledging the role of their convergence project in the ‘roadmap’ to removing reconciliation requirements for non-US companies registered in the US, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released a joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Monday that lists 11 specific areas where progress is to be achieved by 2008.