Giving companies enough time to carefully prepare for a move from U.S. GAAP to IFRS is critical, the AICPA told the SEC in a comment letter filed Thursday.

The AICPA assembled members from business and industry with public company backgrounds to discuss questions the SEC posed in a recent request for comment about a potential IFRS mandate. “The overriding message from panel participants was that an adequate transition period will be the most important consideration in mitigating concerns outlined in the request for comment,” the letter states. How successful FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are at harmonizing GAAP and IFRS through their joint convergence projects is also major factor in determining how long and how challenging conversion will be, the Institute said.

In one release, the SEC asked for feedback regarding investor knowledge of the international accounting standards and what it might take–in time and logistics–to improve investor understanding of IFRS. A second release focused on gauging the impact that adopting IFRS would have on issuers’ compliance with contractual arrangements that require the use of U.S. GAAP and their compliance with corporate governance requirements, as well as the “application of certain legal standards tied to amounts determined for financial reporting purposes.” The SEC also has a general request form on its website for comment on the work plan. The AICPA’s comment letter is in response to the second release covering topics in the IFRS work plan affecting issuers.

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