The Securities and Exchange Commission signaled the demise of U.S. accounting standards, kicking off a process Wednesday that could ultimately require all publicly listed American companies to follow an international model instead.
Introduced in two steps, the shift could eventually cut costs for companies and smooth cross-border investing. At the same time, investors worry it will create confusion, especially during the transition. Others critics worry that the international system offers too much wiggle room for companies, compared with the more precise rules enshrined in U.S. standards.
The SEC's proposal would allow some large multinational companies to report earnings according to international accounting beginning in 2010. The SEC estimates at least 110 U.S. companies would qualify based on their market capitalization, among other factors. The agency also laid out a road map by which all U.S. companies would switch to International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, beginning in 2014, at the expense of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the guiding light of accountants for decades.
The proposals will be open for public comment for 60 days and could be finalized later this year.
U.S. corporations gave the news a qualified welcome. Margaret Smyth, controller at aerospace and building-services conglomerate United Technologies Corp., said the possibility of having one set of books around the world, though still years away, would result in 'tremendous savings.' In the short term, Ms. Smyth said the shift would be expensive and added that 'there are some issues that still need to be worked out,' particularly in the realm of tax accounting.
The SEC says the change will help the U.S. to compete globally because many other nations use the international standards or plan to do so. Larger companies, especially those with overseas subsidiaries, have urged the SEC to move in this direction. They hope a single accounting standard will enable U.S. investors to more easily compare a retailer in the U.S. with one in France, for example.
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox noted that 100 countries around the globe use IFRS and two-thirds of U.S. investors currently own securities of foreign companies.
'The increasing world-wide acceptance and U.S. investors' increasing ownership of foreign companies make it plain that if we do nothing and simply let these trends develop, comparability and transparency will decrease for U.S. investors and issuers,' he said.
The proposal marks the capstone of Mr. Cox's push as chairman to lower global barriers for U.S. investors. It also stems from a concern, voiced more loudly before the credit crunch took hold, that Wall Street was losing business to overseas competitors. In particular, some say the New York Stock Exchange and other U.S. exchanges have been a less attractive place for global companies to list their shares because of the distinct U.S. accounting standards.
Mr. Cox will likely step down following the November presidential election and the next administration could have different priorities. But several observers say it's likely the shift to IFRS will still occur.
Skeptics, even those who agree with the concept of a common accounting language, called the SEC's approach wrongheaded. Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America, said allowing certain U.S. companies to switch ahead of others would 'shift the burden of the translation between the two accounting languages onto investors.'
When companies can choose which standard to use, 'there's every reason to believe . . . they'll choose the language that paints their financials in the rosiest light,' she added.
The U.S. accounting system, which is ingrained in textbooks, business schools and company treasuries, is based on detailed rules, while the international system expects companies to follow broad principles. In practice, the systems differ on smaller matters, such as the timing of when a company should note any change in the value of an investment.
Under U.S. GAAP, for example, research and development costs are generally treated as expenses when they occur. Under the international standards, once a project gets to the development stage the costs are spread out over time. GAAP also provides specific instructions for industries such as oil and insurance. IFRS doesn't.
Jack Ciesielski, an accountant and publisher of the Analyst's Accounting Observer, says accounting under IFRS tends to lead to higher earnings. He examined filings from 137 foreign companies whose shares traded in the U.S. in 2006. That was the final year that U.S. regulators required these companies to translate their books into GAAP from IFRS. Mr. Ciesielski says 63% of the companies reported higher earnings under the international standard, and the median increase was 11.1%.
A move to international standards 'will likely inflate the earnings of U.S. companies and mislead investors,' said Gregory Pai of Paradigm Asset Management in White Plains, N.Y. On the plus side, he noted, the convergence should eventually allow multinationals to save on their accounting bills.
The SEC's road map requires the two bodies that oversee U.S. and international accounting rules narrow the differences.
***分割符***
美国证券交易委员会(SEC)废除美国会计标准的计划周三启动，这意味着最终所有上市的美国公司都将采用国际会计准则。
该计划分两步推出，这一变化最终会降低公司成本，降低跨境投资难度。不过，有投资者担忧这将带来混乱，尤其是在过渡时期。还有批评人士担心，与美国标准中更为精确的条款相比，国际会计准则为公司提供了太多的活动空间。
SEC的方案将允许一些大型跨国公司从2010年起按照国际会计准则发布业绩。SEC估计，至少有110家美国公司的市值符合这一标准。SEC还制定了路线图，所有美国公司将在2014年起采用国际财务报告准则(IFRS)，放弃沿用了几十年的美国公认会计准则(GAAP)。
这些方案将提交公众讨论60天，然后可能在今年晚些时候敲定。
美国公司对这则消息给予了有条件的欢迎。航天及建筑服务集团联合技术公司(United Technologies Corp.)的总审计师玛格丽特·史密斯(Margaret Smyth)说，尽管离最终实施还有数年时间，让全球只有一套准则的可能性会节约大笔费用。她说，短期而言，这种转变会造成昂贵费用，而且也有一些问题亟待解决，尤其是在税务会计领域。
SEC称，这种变化将有助于提高美国的全球竞争力，因为其它许多国家都采用了国际标准，或是计划这样做。大公司，尤其是拥有海外子公司的企业一直敦促SEC这样做。它们希望单一的会计标准能使美国投资者更容易对诸如美国和法国的零售商做出对比。
SEC主席考克斯(Christopher Cox)指出，全球有100个国家使用IFRS，三分之二的美国投资者目前持有海外公司的证券。
他说，全球化程度的提高和美国投资者持有海外公司数量的增加说明，如果我们无所作为，任由这种趋势发展下去，美国投资者和发行人的可比性和透明度都将下降。
这一计划标志著作为主席的考克斯为美国投资者降低全球壁垒的行动达到了新的高度。这一计划也是出于对海外竞争对手正在抢走华尔街业务的担忧，这种呼声在信贷危机前更为高涨。一些人指出，纽约证交所和美国其他交易所对全球企业上市的吸引力已经下降了，原因就在于美国独特的会计标准。
考克斯可能会在11月总统选举后离任，下届政府也许会有不同的工作重点。但几位观察人士表示，向IFRS过渡的计划可能会继续执行。
持怀疑态度的人认为SEC的做法是错误的，其中包括原则上认同统一会计标准的人。美国消费者协会(Consumer Federation of America)投资者保护部门负责人芭芭拉·罗泊尔(Barbara Roper)说，允许一些美国公司提前采用国际标准会将在这两套会计标准之间转换的负担转嫁给投资者。
她说，当公司可以选择采用何种标准时，有充分的理由相信，它们将选择最能粉饰其财务状况的标准。
在教科书&#12289;商学院和公司司库中根深蒂固的美国会计制度是建立在详细规定的基础上的；而国际体系则希望公司遵循宽泛的原理。在实践中，这两套体系只在一些较小的事情上存在不同，例如公司在投资价值发生变化时应公布的时机等。
比如，根据GAAP，研发成本通常在发生时才被视为费用。而根据国际标准，一旦项目进入研发阶段，成本就须按照时间进行分摊。GAAP还针对石油和保险等行业提供了具体的指导，IFRS则没有这样做。
行业通讯《分析师会计观察》(The Analyst's Accounting Observer)的发行人杰克·西谢尔斯基(Jack Ciesielski)说，IFRS的会计方法可能会算出更高的收益。他研究了137家在美国上市的外国公司2006年提交的会计报告。2006年是美国监管机构要求这些公司将会计报告从IFRS格式转换为GAAP格式的最后一年。西谢尔斯基说，其中63%的公司在国际标准下的收益都提高了，增幅中值为11.1%。
Paradigm Asset Management的Gregory Pai说，转为国际标准可能会虚增美国公司的收益，误导投资者。但好处是，标准的统一最终会让跨国公司节约会计费用。
SEC的路线图要求负责美国和国际会计准则的双方缩小分歧。
