Accounting standard setters are pulling up the reins on their aggressive push to finalize major rule changes by the middle of next year, but only a little.

Robert Herz, chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and David Tweedie, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, sent a letter to the Group of 20 Nations along with a separate statement saying they’re reprioritizing the flow of new accounting standards after constituent groups have pleaded that the planned onslaught of new rules is too much, too quickly.

The two chairs said while they originally planned to finalize a dozen standards by mid-2011 as part of their effort to eliminate major differences between their two rule books, they’re now pushing the target completion date for “a few” of those standards into the second half of 2011. The chairs said they will publish no more than four major proposals, or exposure drafts, each quarter, to give preparers and users of financial statements more time to study and react to each one.

A FASB spokesman said there are no details available on how the boards are reprioritizing the standards and which may be pushed further out to completion.

The chairman told the G20 leaders they are still committed to meeting the G20 call for convergence on major differences in U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Financial Reporting Standards and promised continual updates on their progress. “It is expected that this action by FASB and IASB will not negatively impact the Securities and Exchange Commission’s work plan, announced in February, to consider in 2011 whether and how to incorporate IFRS into the U.S. financial system,” the chairmen wrote.

FASB and IASB said their modified strategy for completing the major convergence projects will allow more focus on projects expected to produce the biggest improvements. The boards also said they plan to publish a separate consultation document asking for stakeholder input about how best to transition the new standards into place.