It has long been a commonly held belief among U.S. corporations that international accounting standards would evolve towards U.S. GAAP.  However, it hasn't quite worked out that way.  International accounting standards, under the auspices of the International Accounting Standards Board, have been developing in ways that are not always congruent with U.S. standards.  Additionally, foreign companies may not need to reconcile international reporting requirements to U.S. GAAP before raising capital in the United States.  It'll be interesting to see how these competing interests shape up in the coming years.

CFO.com has an article that discusses this trend in greater detail.  Click here for the full story.