IFRS adoption likely to stay dead

The SEC Chief Accountant had some comments in a speech today that reduces my worry that IFRS converadoption ™ may resurrect from the dead.

Check out Remarks before the 2014 AICPA National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments – The SEC Chief Accountant, James Schnurr spoke to the AICPA conference.

I don’t know how to read between the lines of a prepared speech from a senior official. My simplistic reading of the comments suggests that he has been asked to look at the IFRS issue again to see if there is any way to move forward or else close the door completely.

One comment on uncertainty in the market about the SEC’s position makes me think that one of the options he will consider is to close and lock the door permanently.

Other comments suggest to me that the possible ways to move forward, and the interest in doing so, is essentially gone.

Consider these comments. On the need for resolution:

…Chair White and I both recognize that any continued uncertainty around IFRS results in uneasiness for investors across the globe. Therefore, it is a priority of mine to bring a recommendation to the Commission in the near future with the hope of resolving, or at least lessening, this uncertainty.

On the fading interest in, severe costs of, and shrinking need for IFRS:

… Based on what we have heard to date, it appears that U.S. constituents generally are not supportive of full adoption for a variety of reasons, including legal issues and general cost-benefit concerns, among others. … These issues include legal impediments, practical challenges, and an impact on comparability that does not currently exist in the domestic reporting environment.

… the pros and cons of any alternatives must necessarily start with what interest exists for further IFRS incorporation and what impact it could have on our reporting system, and therefore how it would affect investor protection.

That leaves me almost optimistic that we won’t have to pull out the growing list of arguments against IFRS, get some garlic from the grocery store, and pick up some wood stakes so we can make sure the IFRS corpse stays dead.