The European Union has released a report praising the ongoing convergence of accounting standards in Europe, the United States and other parts of the world, but says there's still work to do.EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McGreevy welcomed the progress made so far to bring accounting standards in the U.S., Canada, Japan, China and India more in line with International Financial Reporting Standards. The European Commission report also lauded the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's announcement that it would consider allowing companies to file IFRS financial statements without first reconciling them with GAAP.
The move would allow investors to compare financial statements from companies around the world more easily. The commission asked for more cooperation and meetings between the U.S. and EU to hammer out the convergence process.
While China and India have been making progress, the commission's report also called on them to provide more details on their timetable for convergence. China imposed a new accounting standard for business enterprises in January.
