Thursday, February 14, 2008

Bush's SEC Ditches FASB for Foreign Firms?


The SEC moved to exempt foreign firms from registration requirements if they do one thing, publish their financial statements in English on their web site. But get this, last year that same SEC scrapped a requirement that overseas companies reconcile their financial reports with United States accounting rules.

Add foreign financial statements to the list of "buyer beware" items. How is an individual investor to know if the company followed FASB accounting standards? They won't. Who will end up buying the latest version of tainted toothpaste, lethal cough medicine, dangerous pet food, defective tires, defective drugs or poisonous toys?