On October 22, 2012, the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, the governing body of the International Accounting Standards Board, issued a Staff Analysis addressing the Final Staff Report issued in July 2012 by the SEC’s Office of Chief Accountant regarding the SEC staff’s Work Plan to study incorporation of International Financial Reporting Standards into the US financial reporting system. The IFRS Foundation’s analysis responds to various concerns raised in the SEC staff report, including the role of the IASB as global accounting standard-setter, issues related to IFRS as global accounting standards, means of transitioning to IFRS, and other challenges in the transition to IFRS.

Notably, the IFRS Foundation’s analysis questions the viability of incorporating IFRS into US GAAP on a standard-by-standard basis (the so-called “condorsement” method). The analysis concludes: “While the size of the US economy relative to other jurisdictions presents significant challenges that are unique to the US, the experience of other countries suggests that many of the challenges can be overcome with the appropriate political will to make a commitment to the mission of a single set of global standards.”