A lot was made of the recent SEC move to eliminate the requirement that foreign companies reconcile their financial statements with the U.S.'s generally accepted accounting principles. That has paved the way for the use of International Financial Reporting Standards, which seems to be the wave of the future. Will this move make the U.S. markets more attractive, negating the ill effects of Sarbanes Oxley? Fair question. We won't have an answer for many years, but the combined effect of easier Sarbox compliance and internationally accepted standard may do the trick.  

For more:
- read this New York Times article [1]

PLUS: A look at the dark side of global standards. Article [2]