Mr. Kroeker came to the SEC in 2007 as Deputy Chief Accountant and has been the agency's Chief Accountant since January 2009. He guided the SEC’s efforts in its consideration of convergence of US GAAP and IFRSs.

A decision about a possible IFRS adoption in the United States is eagerly awaited internationally and any indications of what this decision might look like, what it would entail or even just when it might take place is much noticed. Mr Kroeker's remarks at the February 2012 IFRS Advisory Council meeting that "condorsement" was no longer used to characterise a possible move to IFRS in the US were seen as an encouraging message. The "few months" until the publication of final report under the Work Plan mentioned by Mr. Kroeker at the same meeting have since been updated to a "matter of weeks" in a speech given by SEC Commissioner Elisse B. Walter at the end of May. However, Julie Erhardt of the SEC Staff clarified at the June 2012 IFRS Advisory Council meeting (please click for audio recordings on the IASB website) that the report will only respond to the Commissioners' request for evidence, not contain a suggested course of action.

Whether Mr. Koeker's leaving the SEC will have an impact on the SEC's activities around IFRSs remains to be seen. This will certainly also depend on the question of who is to replace him. So far the SEC has made no announcement regarding a successor candidate.

Please click for the press release "SEC Chief Accountant James Kroeker to Leave the Commission" on the SEC website.