Brussels, 10/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - On the occasion of the visit of EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy to Washington DC on 8 February, Commissioner McCreevy and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox took stock of progress on and affirmed their commitment to eliminating the need for reconciliation between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), to enable European companies established in the US to no longer have to meet GAAP standards. In April last year Commissioner McCreevy and the then SEC Chairman Donaldson discussed the “roadmap” developed by SEC staff setting out steps required to eliminate the need for companies using IFRS to reconcile to US GAAP possibly as soon as 2007, but no later than 2009. At the meeting, Commissioner McGreevy said he expected that IFRS would eventually be deemed acceptable in the US without reconciliation, commenting: "What is important is that IFRS are high quality standards and that investors in the United States can understand and use financial statements prepared under IFRS." Recognising the ongoing work involved Commissioner McCreevy explained: "Achieving the goal of eliminating the reconciliation requirement will also require a new degree of exchange of information, and cooperation among regulators about the application of IFRS. The work plan recently announced by the SEC and the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), which includes dialogue about the implementation of IFRS, takes on a new urgency, as it will help regulators avoid conflicting conclusions in relation to European companies applying IFRS and filing in the US.” The Commissioner mentioned his intention to propose to Member States and the European Parliament to postpone the decision on the possible equivalence of US GAAP with IFRS for two years. Messrs Cox and McCreevy will meet later this year to review progress.