There's more to convergence than just accounting standards
07 May 2003
In remarks at the Baruch College Conference on Financial Reporting, Jackson M.
Day, Acting Chief Accountant of the US SEC, spoke about international convergence (among other things). He noted that the processes for converging accounting standards are underway and "may be the easiest element of international convergence to make happen. It is the other elements of the global financial reporting infrastructure that need at least equal focus." Those elements include:
- High quality auditing and auditing standards;
- Consistent interpretation of accounting standards;
- Effective oversight of standard setters and auditors;
- Independence of auditors;
- Ethics and competence on the part of preparers, auditors, and others;
- Quality control within firms; and
- Reviews and enforcement on financial reporting.