The FASB has jointly agreed with the other standard setters and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to commitments and protocols that mutually support efforts of cooperation and convergence of accounting standards that should create truly efficient global markets.

Central to the FASB's participation in the development of international accounting standards is its commitment to increasing global comparability while maintaining the highest quality accounting standards in the U.S.

In supporting convergence, the FASB's goal is to ensure that international accounting standards are of the highest quality. To accomplish that goal, the FASB supports the IASB as the focal point for the development of international accounting standards. The FASB intends to participate as fully as possible in the IASB's process while maintaining the highest quality standards domestically. In September 2001, the FASB and the IASB agreed to work together on a second phase of the former's business combinations project. The focus of this joint project is on procedures for applying the purchase method of accounting.