By ALLISSA KLINE
Business First

World leaders last week made another push for global accounting rules, urging convergence of U.S. and international reporting standards by June 10, 2011.

But some local CPA professionals say the statement issued at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh is unclear about how much convergence should take place by that date.

"I'm not sure what they're getting at there," sad Tom Berical, a director in the accounting and auditing department at Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC in Buffalo. "I'm reading it as though they want to converge by June 2011, but I don't think it's going to happen by then if that's when they want (global accounting rules) adopted."

The statement made Sept. 25 by G20 leaders calls for: "international accounting bodies to redouble their efforts to achieve a single set of high quality, global accounting standards within the context of their independent standard setting process and complete their convergence project by June 10, 2011. The International Accounting Standards Board's institutional framework should further enhance the involvement of various stakeholders." It follows similar statements made in April and November relating to a single set of accounting rules.

Charles Fadale, audit-department partner at Dopkins & Co. LLP in Amherst, said he doesn't know how to interpret the statement or the date.

"Do they want (convergence) in place and ready to go?" Fadale said. "It's not clear what it means, and it seems awful quick. But if they mean everyone should be in agreement that (international reporting standards) will be used by 2014, then it seems like a more reasonable time frame."

CPA firms and public companies especially have waited years for direction from regulatory agencies about transitioning from the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to International Financial Reporting Standards, a set of reporting guidelines issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and used in dozens upon dozens of countries throughout the world. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its "road map" for using IFRS to prepare financial statements, has said that all U.S. public companies could be required to use IFRS by the year 2014.

Supporters say the switch will help bridge reporting standards throughout the world. Critics say the move involves a dramatic change in the way financial data is collected and reported, thereby requiring additional education and training, new software and an overall turnabout for public companies and CPA firms in the United States.

New York City-base CPA George Victor, a member of the state Society of CPAs, said the accounting industry "isn't ready yet" for IFRS and doesn't want a rush to change driven by politics. He said he's mostly frustrated about the lack of hard decisions regarding when the change will take place.

"At this point there's been a lot of discussion, but we haven't seen the (SEC) road map finalized as far as any further changes to it ... or if it's going to be mandated," Victor said. "The big question is going to be, should this be permitted for the U.S.? The two systems aren't 100 percent compatible, and it's more than a tweak here and a tweak there."

Rocco Surace, managing partner at Gaines Kriner Elliott LLP in Amherst, and Paul Dayer, audit and accounting practice partner at the same firm, both agree that a 2011 timetable is unrealistic. But some larger global businesses already are trying to get a handle on the convergence, especially in terms of figuring out which kinds of software they may need in the future to report via international standards, Dayer said.

"They are into this process already because ... they need to understand how it will impact their accounting software before they can change their system," he said.

Surace points out that Canada is moving ahead with adoption of IFRS, which all Canadian public companies must use starting in 2011. Any work Gaines Kriner does for Canadian clients must involve IFRS, which means firm CPAs have to be up-to-date on those standards.

"We can't sit back and wait," he said. "You don't want to cost anyone anything because you don't know the accounting rules."