Response to the Progress Report of the SEC Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting

INTRODUCTION he Securities and Exchange Commission SEC chartered The Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting CIFiR in July 2007 to examine the U.S. financial reporting system and make recommendations to increase the usefulness of financial reportng to investors, while reducing complexity. The concern that “financial reporting has become a urdensome compliance exercise with decreasing relevance to investors” motivated the formation f CIFiR. Of particular concern was the view that an excessive number of financial statement estatements are a consequence of undue complexity. Given the importance of the issues addressed by CIFiR, American Accounting Association AAA President Gary Previts commissioned a National CIFiR Tracking Team the Tracking eam to monitor the work of CIFiR and provide relevant academic research findings to CIFiR for se in its deliberations and recommendations. On February 14, 2008, CIFiR issued a progress eport, and on April 30, 2008, the Tracking Team submitted its response to that report. In the Progress Report CIFiR identifies five key themes that underlie the recommendations ncluded in its report: