IAS essential for consolidation of European capital markets
19 Jul 2002
In an Address (PDF 27k) in Paris on 11 July, European Internal Markets Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said that the quantity and magnitude of accounting and corporate governance scandals that have come to light in the past year make it essential to speed up the consolidation of European capital markets -- and one of the keys is International Accounting Standards. We need to take measures to raise investor confidence in the numbers, through improvements in accounting standards.
The Union has already taken the highly important step in its accounting strategy that almost all listed EU companies will be required to use International Accounting Standards by 2005. Australia has recently joined us. I invite other countries to follow.
We must above all ensure that International Accounting Standards are implemented and enforced effectively and evenly across jurisdictions. I also want to see IAS and US GAAP converge by 2005 so that there may be full reconciliation between them.