Memorandum of Understanding with the FASB
After their joint meeting in September 2002, the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued their Norwalk Agreement in which they ‘each acknowledged their commitment to the development of high quality, compatible accounting standards that could be used for both domestic and cross-border financial reporting.
At that meeting, the FASB and the IASB pledged to use their best efforts
- to make their existing financial reporting standards fully compatible as soon as is practicable and
- to co-ordinate their future work programmes to ensure that once achieved, compatibility is maintained.’
At their meetings in April and October 2005, the FASB and the IASB reaffirmed their commitment to the convergence of US generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).
A common set of high quality global standards remains the long-term strategic priority of both the FASB and the IASB.
The FASB and the IASB recognise the relevance of the roadmap for the removal of the need for the reconciliation requirement for non-US companies that use IFRSs and are registered in the United States.
It has been noted that the removal of this reconciliation requirement would depend on, among other things, the effective implementation of IFRSs in financial statements across companies and jurisdictions, and measurable progress in addressing priority issues on the IASB-FASB convergence programme.
Therefore, the ability to meet the objective set out by the roadmap depends upon the efforts and actions of many parties - including companies, auditors, investors, standard-setters and regulators.
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