Get ready for a common Europe-U.S. standard

A common European-U.S. accounting standard by 2009? That's the goal of the SEC, and chairman Chris Cox says it is feasible. We'll likely see a lot hand-wringing between now and then, especially on the other side of the pond. European companies have been rather paranoid about the emergence of Sarbanes-Oxley-like rules for a year now and this will only stoke their concerns, despite Europe-based moves to toughen standards. The SEC is already taking pains to note that it is sensitive to their concerns and has modified Sarbox in ways favorable to foreign companies. Note the recent delisting changes. SEC is also willing to give foreign companies a choice of the IFRS international standards or the U.S. GAAP standard. Pretty soon, it will decide whether to give the same choice to U.S. companies.  

For more:
- here's a MarketWatch article