This will of course change the methods in which companies in the U.S. do their accounting and report financial information, but a change in accounting methods should not lead to a major change in the way these companies actually perform their business.
If the transition to IFRS rather than GAAP is expected to change a company's business practices, it is only a sign that the transition needs to be made that much sooner. If a company makes business decisions based on the way it will be able to report that decision's financial effects, rather than on the real value of that decision, there is clearly something wrong with the accounting methods the company is using. The recent financial meltdown largely caused by questionable accounting practices (and tangentially exacerbated by a lack of international standardization in these practices) is definitely evidence that such practices need to be changed, and with an international standard available, why not use it?
"AmEx profit triples, beating expectations." http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/news/companies/American_Express_earnings/
This article describes the unexpected profit gains that New York-based credit card company American...
Though revenue remained flat when compared to the same quarter in 2008, near the height of the global recession, the six-and-a-half billion dollars that the company saw was nearly half-a-billion more than expected. This led to a profit of seven hundred and sixteen million, or sixty cents per share, in the three-month period. Much of this is due to a rise in consumer spending with the use of their AmEx cards, which rose for the first time in over a year during the fourth quarter of 2009. The percentage of credit card payments defaulting or failing to be made also dropped significantly in the quarter, boosting the company's earnings.
Though this is considered a significant improvement in the company's situation, analysts warn that the company could still see hard times as record unemployment levels continue to hurt many consumers, in both their willingness to spend and their ability to make their credit card payments. Although American Express is showing greater profits and revenue, it actually posted a larger revenue in the fourth quarter of 2008, with significantly higher earnings per share than the profits of the past quarter brought to investors.
