News Article - 01 April 2008
Category:

The differences between international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and those of the United States (US) are failing to be reconciled, according to a study.

Research by accounting and audit firm Ernst & Young highlights more than 200 disparities between IFRS and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) which are followed in America, Accountancy magazine reports.

The differences were spotted in the reconciled accounts of more than 100 foreign private issuers and related mainly to pensions, business combinations and financial instruments.

Alan Millings, the firm's US capital markets partner, said: "While companies have tried to minimise reported differences, convergence is still some way off."

In the USA, GAAPs were established by the Accounting Practices Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The Observer recently reported that many company executives believe IFRS make their business' financial information more difficult rather than simpler to understand.

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