FEI Provides Recommendations to FASB and IASB on Convergence Standards

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial Executives International's (FEI) Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR) announced today that it has filed a series of comment letters with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Chairman Robert Herz and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Chairman Sir David Tweedie, to address concerns regarding the effective dates of the major convergence standards outlined in the FASB and IASB Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).  

In the letters, FEI states that the current proposed dates present challenges to realizing a high quality implementation, and recommends that the Board deliberate the effective dates and transition of the major convergence standards holistically, rather than on a standard-by-standard basis, taking into consideration the major convergence standards' impact to companies and the interdependencies among the standards.  In the letters, CCR has recommended the following to FASB and IASB:

• Provide adequate time for the body of converged standards through an aggregated effective date for the final converged standards that provides a three-year implementation period, also allowing for early adoption.
• Permit preparers, when practical, the flexibility in choosing the method of adoption and the manner of initial adoption (retroactive restatement, cumulative effect, prospective, etc).

CCR has also offered the Boards its assistance with the ongoing MoU projects through providing corporate representatives to work with the Boards' project managers, obtaining feedback from the analyst community, and continued quarterly meetings with FASB and IASB to provide further insight.

The Executive committee of CCR also issued a statement following the filing of the comment letters:

"CCR continues to support the Boards' mission to establish and improve financial accounting and reporting standards through the convergence standards. In order to implement a high quality convergence that benefits all parties, we strongly recommend that the board take a holistic approach to this effort.  Our committee is uniquely positioned to assist the FASB and IASB in the development of strategies to address the multitude of potential challenges resulting from the implementation of these new standards, and we welcome the opportunity to work closely with the Boards as we draw closer to the desired date."

Copies of the CCR letters are available upon request.

About Financial Executives International (FEI)

Financial Executives International (FEI) is the leading advocate for the views of corporate financial management. Its 15,000 members hold policy-making positions as chief financial officers, treasurers, and controllers. FEI enhances member professional development through peer networking, career planning services, conferences, publications, and special reports and research. Members participate in the activities of 85 chapters, 74 of which are in the United States and 11 in Canada.

For more information on FEI, visit www.financialexecutives.org.

SOURCE Financial Executives International