Individual investors’ attitudes toward the acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards in the United States

As of this writing, non-U.S. companies using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are permitted to list their securities on U.S. stock exchanges without reconciling those statements to U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently considering a proposed rule that would require all U.S. issuers to employ IFRS by 2015. SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter has emphasized that IFRS should be incorporated into U.S. capital markets only if the change benefits U.S. investors. Current Chairperson Mary Schapiro more recently echoed this statement. Accordingly, this paper reports on the results of a survey of individual investors’ attitudes toward this potential change. It concludes that U.S. investors are satisfied with the current U.S. accounting model and do not desire a movement toward the adoption of IFRS.