Proposed IFRS Roadmap

The Commission's staff, in particular the folks in the Office of the Chief Accountant and the Division of Corporation Finance, have been working to help me and my fellow Commissioners evaluate the comments we received on the proposed IFRS Roadmap. In terms of where we are in the process of moving forward, the comment period ended in April with over 200 thoughtful letters received. We are, as always, carefully reading all of these responses – most of them, more than once. The comment letters raise a number of complex issues, including issues related to the workability of various aspects of the proposed approach. We are very thankful to all who took the time to share their knowledge and experience with us.

Our next steps will, of course, be determined in part by the feedback we received. Commenters appear to generally agree on the benefits of a single set of high quality global accounting standards. Commenters differ, however, and differ strongly, on the best plan for getting there. Reading through many of the comments, I have been struck not only by the diversity, but also by the intensity of opinions on the issues.

As with any important policy question, we are proceeding deliberately and thoughtfully. We are working diligently to make sure we understand all of the advantages and disadvantages. Chairman Schapiro has said that we would soon turn to the proposed IFRS Roadmap, and we are doing just that. At this stage in our review process, I expect we will likely consider further action sometime in early 2010.