Bricker Sees U.S. Staying with GAAP

State Board Report

January 2017

For domestic issues, SEC Chief Accountant Wesley R. Bricker predicts the United States will continue to use U.S. GAAP and rely on the FASB’s independent standard setting process for at least the foreseeable future. Speaking at the AICPA’s SEC Conference on December 5, Mr. Bricker added, “I strongly encourage the FASB and IASB to continue to work together to eliminate differences between their standards where such efforts will strengthen the standards and be in the best interests of investors in the U.S. public capital markets, as well as in other markets. I believe both the FASB and the IASB will benefit from continued collaboration as both Boards continue to eliminate differences as a means of achieving progress towards the objective of high-quality accounting standards in the U.S. and globally.”

Mr. Bricker suggested study continue on a proposal made in 2014 by former SEC Chief Accountant James Schnurr that domestic issuers be allowed to provide IFRS-based information as a supplement to GAAP financial statements.