NEWS_RELEASE_09_17_02
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NEWS RELEASE 09/17/02FASB and IASB Will Hold Joint Meeting in Support of Convergence of Global Accounting StandardsNorwalk, CT, September 17, 2002—As part of a continuing effort to bring about convergence of global accounting standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) will hold a joint meeting on Wednesday, September 18, at the FASB’s headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut. The joint meeting demonstrates both Boards’ continued commitment to converge accounting standards. The Boards are agreed on the need to produce common, high-quality accounting standards across the major international capital markets. The primary purpose of the meeting is to discuss projects the Boards have already undertaken jointly or will address jointly in the future to increase the international comparability of financial reporting. The Boards will focus initially on current FASB and IASB projects in the areas of business combinations and financial performance reporting. The first of these projects is business combinations on which both boards are working jointly to address the accounting relating to application of the purchase method. A second project on financial performance reporting will be covered and will focus on the progress made to date by both organizations, which are pursuing similar projects. The FASB and IASB then will discuss the scope of an historic and very important joint project aimed at eliminating the key differences between existing U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and international accounting standards. The staffs of both Boards, together with the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission, have been working on developing the scope of this project. Finally, the FASB and IASB will discuss revenue recognition—a project that the FASB recently added to its agenda and an area that continues to be the single largest source of financial restatements in the U.S. and an area of growing international concern. The Boards will explore prospects for launching a joint project on revenue recognition. The FASB and IASB are committed to working together in support of convergence in accounting standards that contribute to the health and vitality of our global capital markets. About the Financial Accounting Standards Board Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting in the United States. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors and others rely on credible, transparent and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit its website at www.fasb.org.
About the International Accounting Standards Board The International Accounting Standards Board, based in London, began operations in 2001 taking over from the former part-time IASC founded in 1973. It is funded by contributions from the major accounting firms, private financial institutions and industrial companies throughout the world, central and development banks and other international and professional organizations. The 14 Board members (12 of whom are full-time) reside in nine countries and have a variety of functional backgrounds. The IASB is committed to developing, in the public interest, a single set of high-quality, global accounting standards that require transparent and comparable information in general purpose financial statements. In pursuit of this objective, the IASB cooperates with national accounting standard setters to achieve convergence in accounting standards around the world. For more information about the IASB, visit its website at www.iasb.org.uk. |