SEC Approves Early IFRS Adoption

On August 27, 2008, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously agreed on a series of steps that could lead to the required use of international financial reporting standards (IFRS) by U.S. issuers by 2014. The SEC proposal would allow 110 of the largest publicly held companies in the United States to begin using IFRS at the end of 2009 in connection with their 2010 filings. In 2011, the SEC will determine whether to mandate the transition to IFRS by all U.S. companies in 2014. The SEC left open the possibility of a rollout of IFRS based on company size.

IFRS has the potential to affect several aspects of tax accounting, including prohibiting the use of the LIFO method. For more on the tax implications of IFRS, see Newell and Kalis, “IFRS Is Coming: What Does This Mean for Tax?” Tax Clinic, 39 The Tax Adviser 334 (June 2008).