This question was asked during the Proformative
With real convergence seemingly so far in the future, should companies just take a "wait and see" approach? (Webinar Attendee Question)
Answers
I will say "wait and see" approach works best for now, if you talk about financial reporting perspective.
As I have written in some other posts before, focus on the 3 key U.S. GAAP / IFRS projects for now - Revenue Recognition, Leases and Financial Instruments.
In my opinion, once these three key standards are converged and released, it will shed more light on to the next steps.
On the other hand, if you review / analyze the financial statements of companies that are preparing their financial statements using IFRS, you will need to review the IFRS and U.S. GAAP differences to understand their financial statements as these companies are no longer required to provide any reconciliation between IFRS and U.S. GAAP.
I assume the "wait and see" refers to the adoption of IFRS, for which I concur that "wait and see" is still the best approach. For "convergance" projects the crucial understanding is that these will produce, siumultaneously, a GAAP standard and an IFRS standard. All GAAP developments should be carefully monitored, including the "convergance" items. Ultimately GAAP and IFRS are not likely to become fully converged, nor is US full adoption of IFRS without a screening process likely.
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Accounting