Forty percent of CEOs surveyed by Grant Thornton agree with the Securities and Exchange Commission's decision to allow foreign firms listed on U.S. exchanges to file financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, without reconciling them to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
When asked about the SEC's decision, 16 percent of the 250 U.S. CEOs polled by Grant Thornton said they strongly agreed and 24 percent somewhat agreed. Thirty-one percent were on the fence, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Another 20 percent said they somewhat disagreed while 9 percent strongly disagreed.
More than half of the respondents reported having at least some experience in preparing financial statements according to IFRS. Twenty-six percent said they have a lot of experience, while 35 percent indicated they have some experience with IFRS. However, 20 percent of the CEOs admitted they have very little experience and 19 percent confessed they have no experience.
When asked how capable their accounting and financial systems are to manage business with foreign companies and partners, 36 percent of the CEOs said their systems were very capable and 39 percent said they were somewhat capable. At the other end of the spectrum, 19 percent of the CEOs admitted their systems were somewhat incapable and 7 percent said their systems were "very incapable."
