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Hidden Convergence Costs: Borne By U.S. Investors?

January 16, 2008 4:17 PM
From AAO Weblog: Jack Ciesielski

There are plenty of high expectations for international convergence of accounting standards. Promoters plug the portability of capital, and the fact that one language will make it easier for capital to cross borders. If the ultimate vision of future markets is that the elimination of barriers makes it all one big, happy market where capital is peddled night and day non-stop, one reporting language isn't a luxury - it's a necessity.

Markets will probably never become completely homogenous - but they're certain to look more like each other as time goes by. That means some markets will give up what differentiates them from others. And one of the unfortunate side effects of converging US accounting standards with international financial reporting standards is that, if done in pell-mell fashion, US investors might not enjoy some of the same rich disclosures to which they've become accustomed.

How so? Suppose for instance, the IASB and the FASB (with the help of the SEC) decide to converge standards on a pick-and-choose, "best of breed" basis over the next five years. Maybe the FASB standard wins; maybe the IASB standard wins. One merit sure to be a criterion: how many countries in the world already use an IASB standard that's pretty close to one used in the United States? That would tilt things in favor of the IASB standard versus the FASB standard.

For example: the benefit plan disclosures required by the IFRS standard are not as deep as what's required in the FAS 158 and 132(R) - and whenever there's stress placed on pension plans in the US, investors seem to find that there's more information they need that hasn't been supplied by the existing standards. 

Another example: there is no equivalent disclosure of "fair value hierarchy" in the IFRS standard for financial instruments. That's a disclosure that hasn't even been common yet, but you can bet in this credit/valuation environment, investors are going to keep an eagle-eye on those disclosures.

That's not the way it's planned yet. Nevertheless, as the convergence process develops, investors in the United States need to keep an eagle-eye on it - and step up to the plate if they think their interests are going to be diminished. 

[ Read the entire post at AAO Weblog: Jack Ciesielski ] Open in this window Open in a new window

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