Dodging questions about when the Securities and Exchange Commission will set a date for U.S. adoption of international accounting standards, senior SEC staff have suggested the more important issue is reducing differences between U.S. and international rules.

Jim Kroeker, chief accountant at the SEC, said at an accounting conference today that he understands companies are eager to know when they’ll be expected to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards. He said he believes, however, there needs to be more progress on converging U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and IFRS.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards are working on eight major projects that would fundamentally change the nature of financial reporting, said Kroeker, addressing the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in its annual conference on regulatory developments. “I’m not exactly certain how an entity would put in place a new system to adopt IFRS” when rules under both GAAP and IFRS are still changing so dramatically, Kroeker said. “There needs to be a stable platform that people would be talking about moving to. That doesn’t mean people don’t need or want a greater level of clarity. You can expect to hear more from us in the short term.”

Kroeker said in October that the SEC would provide more clarity about its plans for U.S. adoption of IFRS “in the fall.” The SEC issued a proposed roadmap in November 2008 and accepted comments through mid-February, just as the economy spiraled into a credit and liquidity crisis.

According to Kroeker, the 200-plus comment letters sent to the SEC generally praised the pursuit of a single set of accounting standard but raised scores of challenges and questions about how best to get there. He noted the economic crisis has “highlighted the importance of developing and maintaining” a single set of high-quality accounting standards globally.

Julie Erhardt, deputy chief accountant in Kroeker's office, said while capital markets in other countries are well developed, the U.S. standards and processes still serve as a benchmark for other countries. “People still do look to what the U.S. does and the U.S. view when establishing processes, procedures, and global norms,” she said.

As such, the U.S. role in influencing capital markets and global standards shouldn’t be overlooked. “We are blessed with a lot of resources in our profession in the United States,” she said. “We have a lot to offer.”

Paul Beswick, another deputy chief accountant, acknowledged companies need to know what to do to prepare for IFRS. He said he would recommend companies follow the progress of IASB and the general movement toward IFRS, but hold off on making significant changes. “As far as moving systems, I don’t think I would be expending a lot of resources going through that right now,” he said.