What is the status of the convergence initiative with the IASB?

The FASB and IASB are making continued progress in our joint effort to enhance consistency, comparability, and efficiency in global capital markets through our convergence initiative. In fact, virtually all of our major projects are now being conducted jointly, and the Boards are devoting a majority of our time and resources to this effort.

In February 2006, the Boards published a Memorandum of Understanding that reaffirmed the Boards' shared objective of developing a common set of high-quality standards for both domestic and crossborder use. We continue to believe that ensuring that high-quality standards that provide credible, comparable, conceptually sound, and usable information to the global capital markets should be at the core of the FASB and IASB missions.

We also continue to work closely with the IASB to develop a common conceptual framework. Presently, the FASB and IASB are each guided by their own individual frameworks. While similar, these differ from each other in various respects, are incomplete, and are not up-to-date. The Boards believe that a common conceptual framework will improve the foundation and concepts that underlie global financial reporting and serve as a more effective guide in developing global financial reporting standards. Accordingly, during 2006, the FASB and IASB jointly published for public comment a consultative document setting out our preliminary views on the first two chapters of an enhanced conceptual framework.