SEC may back international accounting standards

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. companies would be able to file financial results using international accounting standards according to a timetable U.S. securities regulators will propose next week.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will meet on Wednesday to review a long-anticipated plan to move toward International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and away from U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

About 110 countries use or plan to use the international accounting standards which are considered more flexible than GAAP.

The SEC in November voted to allow foreign companies to submit their financials in IFRS instead of having to conform to GAAP, a time-consuming and costly process.

The SEC is considering a timetable, or "roadmap" in its terminology, that could converge the two systems and eventually allow some U.S. companies to file in IFRS.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have applauded the moves toward a common set of international standards, which they said could attract more foreign companies to the United States.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said earlier this week he expects a final rule this autumn.

"Our focus is on laying out a roadmap," Cox told reporters after a news conference on Tuesday. "It will be an important milestone, but it will be one step in what will undoubtedly be a long journey."

The proposal will be subjected to a comment period, an unusual move for the SEC, which typically adopts timetables without extensive feedback. Cox said the comment period is needed "given the significance of the changes under consideration."

Critics have cautioned U.S. regulators from moving too fast to IFRS, saying it could create lax standards and that there could be a steep learning curve for the creation and interpretation of IFRS financial statements in the United States.

(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Daniel Trotta)