My first column this year discussed a few hopes for 2010. One of them happened in February, when the Securities and Exchange Commission clarified its thinking about International Financial Reporting Standards. I’m happy to report that another happened in June, as the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued several exposure drafts as part of its big push to improve and converge U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and IFRS, and announced a slower timetable for completion of the 15 or so projects on its agenda.
Four exposure drafts have been issued, with another eight or so planned in the next year, according to the new schedule. Now FASB needs insightful comment letters on all of these exposure drafts to ensure that the resulting standards are practical and useful, and include sufficient guidance for consistent application. And reporting companies—that would be you—must provide a lot of that input. To that end, I offer a few tips to writing a good comment letter on a proposed accounting standard.
