IASC will complete accounting standards by 1998.

The completion date of the International Accounting Standards Committee's core set of international accounting standards will be March 1998, one year earlier than planned. The IASC reached an agreement with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) last year to complete core standards that could be used for cross-border offerings and listings.

"The IASC has received significant encouragement to accelerate our work program," said Liesel Knorr, IASC technical director. "A company that now produces two sets of financial statements, one for its government's statutory requirements and one to comply with international accounting standards, will want to use international accounting standards for all reporting purposes." Knorr also said the IOSCO, including European and Canadian members and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, supported an accelerated work program.

Sir Bryan Carsberg, IASC secretary-general, said although the IASC would be working more quickly than previously planned, it would not reduce the comment period for exposure drafts below four months. "We recognize that four months is a tight deadline for some of our constituents, particularly those using translations to make effective comments," said Carsberg. He said the IASC would work with such constituents before exposure drafts were published.

U.S. support

In April, the SEC publicly supported the new IASC work schedule and said it would remain committed to working with the IOSCO and the IASC to provide the necessary input to achieve international standards. The SEC also said that as soon as the IASC completed its core set of standards, it would consider allowing foreign issuers to use the international accounting standards when offering securities in the United States.

SEC Chair Arthur Levitt announced in May that the SEC had hired Arthur R. Wyatt, CPA and former IASC chair, as an expert consultant in the OfFice of the Chief Accountant. Wyatt is Chief Accountant Michael H. Sutton's senior policy adviser for initiatives surrounding the development of international accounting standards. "In light of the IASC's decision to intensify its efforts to develop a set of core standards by March 1998, it is critical the Commission have the expertise necessary to ensure that U.S. interests are represented at the highest level," said Levitt.