An Analysis of the Content of Form 20-F U.S. GAAP Reconciliation by Foreign Entities Employing IFRS: is the SEC IFRS Roadmap Premature‪?‬

INTRODUCTION Until recently, all foreign entities that are traded on United States (U.S.) stock exchanges were required to include a reconciliation to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) if the financial statements were not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The firms provided this information on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 20-F. This is a very expensive exercise that cost some companies millions of dollars annually (Scannell and Reilly 2007a). This burden, in conjunction with the additional costs associated with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, has led to many U.S. de-listings by foreign entities (Uhlfelder 2007).