IOSCO cites progress toward global accounting standards
29 May 2002
In the Final Communiqué of the XXVIIth Annual Conference (18-24 May 2002) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, IOSCO noted considerable progress toward acceptance of IAS by its members: Following up on its Resolution Concerning the Use of IASC Standards for the Purpose of Facilitating Multinational Securities Offerings and Cross Border Listings adopted by the Presidents' Committee in May 2000, IOSCO conducted a survey of the acceptance of International Accounting Standards by IOSCO members.
The results indicate that many jurisdictions permit incoming issuers to use IAS, and others are actively working towards this end. Moreover, since May 2000, there have been a number of developments promoting the use of IAS. These include: (i) the decision of the EU Council of Ministers (ECOFIN Council) requiring the use of IAS by 2005; (ii) the completion of the reconstitution of the IASB into a full-time independent standard setter, and (iii) the formation of the Committee of European Securities Regulators with a special sub-group devoted to these issues. Looking ahead, to further these efforts, IOSCO encourages the IASB and national standard setters to work cooperatively and expeditiously to achieve convergence in order to facilitate cross-border offerings and listings and encourages regulators to address the broader issues of consistent interpretation, application and enforcement.