Contributed by: Sean Spitzer, Partner
Since 2002, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have been working on converging U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). There’ve been successes and failures along the way, but now the convergence effort appears to have run its course. Going forward, U.S. standard setters propose an informal, collaborative model that will minimize differences in financial reporting, in lieu of the IASB’s one-size-fits-all approach. Here’s an overview of global accounting standards — past, present and future.