Fernando's GAAP

As one whose family roots can be traced to Rome andCalabria, I pride myself in my appreciation and knowledge of my ancestralcuisine as well as the wonderful byproducts that emanate from the vineyards.

So it would probably come as bit of a surprise that Ifrequent a local pizzeria operated by Fernando, a Paraguayan, whom I often kidthat because his expertise in all things red sauce, he must have distantrelatives somewhere in my homeland.

Fernando successfully took over a space that had been thesite of three consecutive restaurant failures and has since flourished for 12years.

But he is like millions of other small businesses in thiscountry, with financial reporting needs as different from entities such asGeneral Electric or IBM as the distance between Rome and Asuncion.

At last week's Fall Meeting of Council of the AICPA, thethree-decade-old debate on separate reporting standards for private companiesemerged once again, particularly in light of the SEC refocusing its attentionon the roadmap to adoption of IFRS.

Judith H. O'Dell, chair of the Private Company FinancialReporting Committee -a joint taskforce between the American Institute of CPAs and the Financial AccountingStandards Board - told several hundred attendees that it's time to give separateGAAP serious consideration.

But while the issue has progressed somewhat, it's alsobeen stymied. Despite the incredible census divide between the number of publiccompanies and private entities, the reporting needs of public investors havealways come first on the "to-do" docket.

At the conference O'Dell revealed the results of a recentstudy conducted by Big Four firm Deloitte, which showed that 51 percent of therespondents indicated the need for a separate GAAP for private companies.

But statistics and surveys aside, the reality of thesituation is that FASB has never forged a reputation for expediency whensetting GAAP, and without accelerants such as lawmakers pounding on their doorto modify fair value, you can be certain no one in Norwalk will be elbowingtheir way to take the lead in setting private standards.

Nor is it likely that the recent issuance of IFRS forSMEs by the International Accounting Standards Board will the panacea for theneeds of private companies as evidenced by the fact that several internationalstandard-setters have not accepted them.

But something resembling measured progress in this areawill probably have to happen fairly quickly, or it will likely be again buried- this time amidst a flurry of current headline-grabbing issues like financialmarket reform, ObamaCare and of course, IFRS.

Until then, Fernando will continue to record sales of hisentrées like the spectacular calamari fra diavalo the same way GE does.