"IFRS - History, Current Status and Future Developments"

Speaker: Dr. Barry J. Epstein PhD., CPA, CFF

Program Chair: Judi Spaletto, ITCC Board Member

We have invited Dr. Epstein, a licensed CPA in Illinois and a Partner in the Chicago firm of Epstein & Nach LLC. Dr. Epstein is a recognized expert in the harmonization of international accounting principles called International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), and the efforts to harmonize financial reporting world-wide.

The focus of his presentation will address the following: 

• The history regarding the creation of the IASC (now IASB) in 1973, its early efforts to narrow the then-wide range of accounting treatments given transactions by businesses around the world, in order to foster international commerce and capital flows by reducing the perception of 'accounting risk;' 
• The major boost given in the late 1990s to international accounting standards when the international organization (IOSCO) representing national securities regulators endorsed IAS for cross-border registrations; 
• The SEC-demanded change in structure from IASC (part-time board, limited technical support, limited financing) to IASB (full time board, well funded, with large technical staff) in 2011, essentially emulating the US's FASB;
• The decade-long effort to "converge" IFRS with U.S. GAAP, which has been partially successful but which apparently cannot be fully accomplished;
• The uncertain status of SEC permission to file in the U.S. using IFRS (permitted for foreign issuers, but not yet for domestic ones, even if they also file under IFRS in other markets);
• The recent or pending major achievements with new standards addressing revenue recognition, accounting for leases, and accounting for financial assets and liabilities; and
• The outlook for other projects currently under development.

Dr. Epstein holds degrees in Finance, Accounting and Economics from DePaul University, University of Chicago, and the University of Pittsburgh.