An excerpt from Sir David's statement: The movement towards IFRSs is truly global and extends well beyond Europe's borders. More than 100 countries throughout the world – 108 according to the latest Deloitte IASPlus survey – require or permit the use of IFRSs. From our discussions with regulators and standardsetters, we expect this number to rise substantially within a relatively short time. As I said, the EU's adoption served as a catalyst. Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and South Africa all joined Europe as early adopters. The major emerging and transition economies of the world – Brazil, China, India, and Russia – are adopting or considering the adoption of IFRSs, not US GAAP, in an effort to become integrated in the world's capital markets and attract the investment necessary to finance their development. Similarly, Canada, Chile, Israel and Korea, economies with significant ties with the United States, have all recently announced their planned abandonment of national standards for IFRSs.