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SECConceptRelease:

InternationalAccountingStandards

SECURITIESANDEXCHANGECOMMISSION

17CFRPARTS230and240

[RELEASENOS.33-7801,34-42430;INTERNATIONALSERIESNO.1215]

FILENO.S7-04-00

[RIN:

3235-AH65]

INTERNATIONALACCOUNTINGSTANDARDS

AGENCY:

SecuritiesandExchangeCommission.

ACTION:

Conceptrelease;requestforcomment.

SUMMARY:

Withtheactivitiesandinterestsofinvestors,lendersandcompaniesbecomingincreasinglyglobal,theCommissionisincreasingitsinvolvementinanumberofforumstodevelopagloballyaccepted,highqualityfinancialreportingframework.Ourefforts,atbothadomesticandinternationallevel,consistentlyhavebeenbasedontheviewthattheonlywaytoachievefair,liquidandefficientcapitalmarketsworldwideisbyprovidinginvestorswithinformationthatiscomparable,transparentandreliable.Thatiswhywehavepursuedadualobjectiveofupholdingthequalityoffinancialreportingdomestically,whileencouragingconvergencetowardsahighqualityglobalfinancialreportingframeworkinternationally.Inthisrelease,weareseekingcommentonthenecessaryelementsofsuchaframework,aswellasonwaystoachievethisobjective.OneaspectofthisisseekinginputtodetermineunderwhatconditionsweshouldacceptfinancialstatementsofforeignprivateissuersthatarepreparedusingthestandardspromulgatedbytheInternationalAccountingStandardsCommittee.

DATES:

CommentsshouldbereceivedonorbeforeMay23,2000.

ADDRESSES:

PleasesendthreecopiesofyourcommentstoJonathanG.Katz,Secretary,SecuritiesandExchangeCommission,450FifthStreet,N.W.,Washington,D.C.20549-0609.Youalsomaysubmityourcommentselectronicallyatthefollowinge-mailaddress:

rule-comments@sec.gov.AllcommentlettersshouldrefertoFileNo.S7-04-00;youshouldincludethisfilenumberinthesubjectlineife-mailisused.Commentletterscanbeinspectedandcopiedinourpublicreferenceroomat450FifthStreet,N.W.,Washington,D.C.20549-0102.WewillpostelectronicallysubmittedcommentsonourInternetWebsiteat.

FORFURTHERINFORMATIONCONTACT:

SandraFolsomKinsey,SeniorInternationalCounsel,DivisionofCorporationFinanceat（202）942-2990,orD.J.Gannon,ProfessionalAccountingFellow,OfficeoftheChiefAccountantat（202）9424400.

SUPPLEMENTARYINFORMATION

I.INTRODUCTIONANDPURPOSEOFTHISRELEASE

Overthelasttwodecades,theglobalfinanciallandscapehasundergoneasignificanttransformation.Thesedevelopmentshavebeenattributable,inpart,todramaticchangesinthebusinessandpoliticalclimates,increasingglobalcompetition,thedevelopmentofmoremarket-basedeconomies,andrapidtechnologicalimprovements.Atthesametime,theworld'sfinancialcentershavegrownincreasinglyinterconnected.

Corporationsandborrowerslookbeyondtheirhomecountry'sbordersforcapital.AnincreasingnumberofforeigncompaniesroutinelyraiseorborrowcapitalinU.S.financialmarkets,andU.S.investorshaveshowngreatinterestininvestinginforeignenterprises.Thisglobalizationofthesecuritiesmarketshaschallengedsecuritiesregulatorsaroundtheworldtoadapttomeettheneedsofmarketparticipantswhilemaintainingthecurrenthighlevelsofinvestorprotectionandmarketintegrity.

Oureffortstodevelopaglobalfinancialreportingframeworkhavebeenguidedbythecornerstoneprincipleunderlyingoursystemofregulation--pursuingourmandateofinvestorprotectionbypromotinginformedinvestmentdecisionsthroughfullandfairdisclosure.Financialmarketsandinvestors,regardlessofgeographiclocation,dependonhighqualityinformationinordertofunctioneffectively.Marketsallocatecapitalbestandmaintaintheconfidenceoftheprovidersofcapitalwhentheparticipantscanmakejudgmentsaboutthemeritsofinvestmentsandcomparableinvestmentsandhaveconfidenceinthereliabilityoftheinformationprovided.

Becauseofincreasingcross-bordercapitalflows,weandothersecuritiesregulatorsaroundtheworldhaveaninterestinensuringthathighquality,comprehensiveinformationisavailabletoinvestorsinallmarkets.Westatedthisviewin1988,whenweissuedapolicystatementthatnotedthat"allsecuritiesregulatorsshouldworktogetherdiligentlytocreatesoundinternationalregulatoryframeworksthatwillenhancethevitalityofcapitalmarkets."1Wehaveappliedthisapproachinanumberofinstances,includingourrecentadoptionoftheInternationalDisclosureStandardsdevelopedbytheInternationalOrganizationofSecuritiesCommissions（IOSCO）fornon-financialstatementinformation.2OurdecisiontoadopttheInternationalDisclosureStandardswasbasedonourconclusionthatthestandardswereofhighqualityandthattheiradoptionwouldprovideinformationcomparabletotheamountandqualityofinformationthatU.S.investorsreceivetoday.

Currently,issuerswishingtoaccesscapitalmarketsindifferentjurisdictionsmustcomplywiththerequirementsofeachjurisdiction,whichdifferinmanyrespects.Werecognizethatdifferentlistingandreportingrequirementsmayincreasethecostsofaccessingmultiplecapitalmarketsandcreateinefficienciesincross-bordercapitalflows.Therefore,weareworkingwithothersecuritiesregulatorsaroundtheworldtoreducethesedifferences.Toencouragethedevelopmentofaccountingstandardstobeconsideredforuseincross-borderfilings,wehavebeenworkingprimarilythroughIOSCO,andfocusingontheworkoftheInternationalAccountingStandardsCommittee（IASC）.Throughoutthiseffort,wehavebeensteadfastinadvocatingthatcapitalmarketsoperatemostefficientlywheninvestorshaveaccesstohighqualityfinancialinformation.

However,ensuringthathighqualityfinancialinformationisprovidedtocapitalmarketsdoesnotdependsolelyonthebodyofaccountingstandardsused.Aneffectivefinancialreportingstructurebeginswithareportingcompany'smanagement,whichisresponsibleforimplementingandproperlyapplyinggenerallyacceptedaccountingstandards.Auditorsthenhavetheresponsibilitytotestandopineonwhetherthefinancialstatementsarefairlypresentedinaccordancewiththoseaccountingstandards.Iftheseresponsibilitiesarenotmet,accountingstandards,regardlessoftheirquality,maynotbeproperlyapplied,resultinginalackoftransparent,comparable,consistentfinancialinformation.

Accordingly,whiletheaccountingstandardsusedmustbehighquality,theyalsomustbesupportedbyaninfrastructurethatensuresthatthestandardsarerigorouslyinterpretedandapplied,andthatissuesandproblematicpracticesareidentifiedandresolvedinatimelyfashion.Elementsofthisinfrastructureinclude:

∙effective,independentandhighqualityaccountingandauditingstandardsetters;

∙

∙highqualityauditingstandards;

∙

∙auditfirmswitheffectivequalitycontrolsworldwide;

∙

∙profession-widequalityassurance;and

∙

∙activeregulatoryoversight.

Inthisrelease,wediscussanumberofissuesrelatedtotheinfrastructureforhighqualityfinancialreporting.Wesolicitviewsontheelementsnecessaryfordevelopingahighquality,globalfinancialreportingframeworkforuseincross-borderfilings.WebelievetheseissuesshouldbeconsideredinthedevelopmentofanyproposalstomodifycurrentrequirementsforenterprisesthatreportusingIASCstandardsbecauseourdecisionsshouldbebasedonthewaythestandardsactuallyareinterpretedandappliedinpractice.

Werecognizethateachoftheelementsoftheinfrastructuremaybeatdifferentstagesofdevelopmentandthatdecisionsandprogressonsomeoftheseinfrastructureissuesmaybeindependentofthebodyofaccountingstandardsused.

II.ELEMENTSOFAHIGHQUALITYGLOBALFINANCIALREPORTINGSTRUCTURE

A.HighQualityAccountingStandards

Highqualityaccountingstandardsarecriticaltothedevelopmentofahighqualityglobalfinancialreportingstructure.Differentaccountingtraditionshavedevelopedaroundtheworldinresponsetovaryingneedsofusersforwhomthefinancialinformationisprepared.Insomecountries,forexample,accountingstandardshavebeenshapedprimarilybytheneedsofprivatecreditors,whileinothercountriestheneedsoftaxauthoritiesorcentralplannershavebeenthepredominantinfluence.IntheUnitedStates,accountingstandardshavebeendevelopedtomeettheneedsofparticipantsinthecapitalmarkets.

U.S.accountingstandardsprovideaframeworkforreportingthatseekstodelivertransparent,consistent,comparable,relevantandreliablefinancialinformation.EstablishingandmaintaininghighqualityaccountingstandardsarecriticaltotheU.S.approachtoregulationofcapitalmarkets,whichdependsonprovidinghighqualityinformationtofacilitateinformedinvestmentdecisions.

Highqualityaccountingstandardsconsistofacomprehensivesetofneutralprinciplesthatrequireconsistent,comparable,relevantandreliableinformationthatisusefulforinvestors,lendersandcreditors,andotherswhomakecapitalallocationdecisions.Highqualityaccountingstandardsareessentialtotheefficientfunctioningofamarketeconomybecausedecisionsabouttheallocationofcapitalrelyheavilyoncredibleandunderstandablefinancialinformation.

Whenissuerspreparefinancialstatementsusingmorethanonesetofaccountingstandards,theymayfinditdifficulttoexplaintoinvestorstheaccuracyofbothsetsoffinancialstatementsifsignificantlydifferentoperatingresults,financialpositionsorcashflowclassificationsarereportedunderdifferentstandardsforthesameperiod.Q