Accountancy
on verge of a breakthrough
Paris, 8
June 2000 - In a letter
to the Financial Times, members of the ICC Presidency welcomed recent moves
towards worldwide acceptance of a uniform set of accountancy principles. The
text is reproduced here.
Sir, At last, worldwide acceptance of a uniform set of accountancy principles
appears to be within reach. The decision by Iosco, the stock exchange regulators,
to allow use of International Accounting Standards (IAS) for cross-border offerings
and listings was a breakthrough. Equally positive is the strengthening of the
international standard setter through the appointment of a new board of trustees
for IAS under Mr Paul Volcker.
Those of us who do business
internationally look forward to the day when all general-purpose financial information
can be prepared according to a single worldwide framework using a common set
of basic measurement criteria. This will require a commitment by governments
and business working together with the accountancy profession around the globe.
Business is only too aware
that a substantial gap persists between the quality of financial information
available in many countries and the reasonable expectations of investors and
other users of that information. The Asian crisis of 1997-98 could at least
have been attenuated had the gap not existed.
Closing the gap has to be
a priority for all actors in the international financial marketplace. The latest
developments are to be welcomed because they bring nearer the convergence of
the IAS, which are widely used outside the United States, and the US Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles (USGAAP).
If, for the ti
me being,
it is not possible to achieve convergence, agreement should at least be sought
on mutual recognition.
Success will put global
markets on a sounder, more stable footing, with consequent benefits for business
and society as a whole.
We write as the three members
of the Presidency of the International Chamber of Commerce, whose respective
businesses are headquartered in the developing world, the United States and
Europe.
Adnan Kassar, Richard D
McCormick, Helmut O Maucher,
President and members of the Presidency,
International Chamber of Commerce,
38, Cours Albert 1er
75008 Paris
ICC
Statement on Improving the Quality of Financial Information
Financial
Services and Insurance