U.S. Chamber Supports SEC Proposal on International Accounting Convergence

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The United States Chamber of Commerce today filed a comment letter generally supporting the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent proposal to accept financial statements from foreign companies using International Financial Reporting Standards without having to reconcile it with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

"The Chamber strongly supports efforts toward global accounting convergence and policies that reduce unnecessary regulatory costs for foreign companies raising capital in the U.S.," said Michael J. Ryan, Jr., Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the U.S. Chamber Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness. "This rule change will encourage foreign businesses to look to the U.S. for their capital needs and will benefit U.S. investors by providing access to new investing opportunities."

In a letter commenting on the July 2 proposal, the Chamber urged the SEC to make the rule effective no later than December 15, 2007 so that foreign issuers may realize its cost reduction benefits with their filings due in 2008. The Chamber also called upon the SEC to modify its proposal to accept reasonable variations of IFRS. Ryan noted that, "requiring rigid adherence to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) version of IFRS would in effect be forcing foreign private issuers to transition from one reconciliation process to another."

The Chamber also commended the SEC on its recent concept release to consider whether to afford the same IFRS reporting option to U.S. registrants. However, Ryan stated that "the SEC must maintain a vigorous approach in dealing with the issues of auditing convergence and enforcement of global standards."

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.


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