The Group of 20 wants to see U.S. accounting standards merge with international standards, and so do finance executives at U.S. corporations. At the major nations' meeting this month in Pittsburgh, the G20 requested that U.S. and international accounting regulators work harder to achieve a convergence of U.S. GAAP and international financing reporting standards (IFRS) by mid-2011. The G20 statement, along with some friendly comments made recently by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials, suggest the move toward a single set of global accounting standards is regaining steam.

Meanwhile, a recent survey of U.S. finance executives found that while 70% want the SEC to approve its proposed road map for the U.S. adoption of IFRS, most favor some adjustment. More than 50% of the 150 executives surveyed by Deloitte say the SEC should consider delaying the plan's deadline for a year. The road map calls for large companies to start using IFRS in fiscal years ending after Dec. 15, 2014, but it gives the SEC until 2011 to make a final decision. Companies worry that an SEC decision in 2011 wouldn't give them enough time to prepare for a 2014 start.

The executives were divided on the best way to make the change in accounting regulations. Thirty-nine percent say the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) should extend their efforts to converge U.S. generally accepted accounting standards with IFRS over the next five to 10 years. Another 39% think FASB and IASB should make as much progress on convergence as they can by 2011 and then switch to converting U.S. companies to IFRS, and 17% say standards setters should give up on convergence now and focus on conversion efforts.