Bloomberg reported on February 11 that Mary Schapiro may pick Charles Niemeier to be chief accountant of the SEC.  Niiemeier is a former chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.  He has publicly supported mark-to-market accounting, but has been a vocal critic of IFRS.  In a speech delivered in September, 2008 to the New York Society of CPAs, Niemeier said that "International Financial Reporting Standards are not likely to result in benefits to investors in U.S. securities or the U.S. economy," and continued: 

 To explain how I’ve reached this view, I want to take some time today to unpack the arguments in support of the initiative. As I’ve hinted, it is based on a set of assertions that, when explored, turn out to be myths. They are –

• that the current initiative promotes convergence of IFRS and GAAP, a long-standing goal endorsed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;

• that IFRS are superior to GAAP, because they are principles-based;

• that switching to IFRS will enhance comparability of financial reports;

• that IFRS will improve investor protection; and

• that the IASB’s standards-setting process is adequately protected from influences unrelated to the quality of standards.

Blogger David Albrecht of The Summa

 has an excellent round-up of information about Niemeier, whom he profiled last year in an eight-part series on IFRS critics. 

The CPA Journal published an interview with Niemeier in December, 2008

Will this put IFRS on ice?  Stay tuned.