An increasing number of company finance professionals would consider adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) sooner than the path recently outlined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in its proposed IFRS roadmap, according to a new survey from Deloitte.

Almost half - 42 percent - of more than 200 finance professionals representing companies of various sizes and industries surveyed in November indicated they would consider implementation of IFRS sooner than 2014, if that were permitted under the mandated adoption date proposed by the SEC recently. This represents a significant increase from a similar Deloitte IFRS study performed earlier in 2008 that showed 30 percent of respondents would consider adopting IFRS, if given a choice.

"We've observed a steady increase in interest around IFRS from all types of U.S. companies, not just multinationals and not just large companies. Company executives are beginning to understand and recognize the potential benefits that will likely result from reporting in IFRS," said D.J. Gannon, leader of Deloitte's IFRS service offering in the United States. "But there's a lot of work to be done and executives really need to begin to understand the impact that IFRS will have on their organizations."

Among the leading factors driving companies' interest in considering adopting IFRS sooner was simplified financial accounting and reporting and, separately, improved financial reporting and transparency. Both of these factors were cited by 37 percent of the companies surveyed that would consider earlier adoption.

The top perceived challenges among respondents that would consider adopting early include: lack of accounting technical guidance (33 percent) and lack of skilled personnel (32 percent). Eighteen percent recognized the cost of conversion as a significant challenge.

Companies in the survey that would consider adopting IFRS at an earlier date are predominantly in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), manufacturing and financial services industries. Fifty-seven percent of respondents from companies operating in the TMT industry would consider adopting before 2014. For financial services, 42 percent of respondents would consider early adoption.

Forty-five percent of respondents from companies with revenues between $1-10 billion indicated they would consider switching to IFRS before 2014; meanwhile 25 percent of respondents from companies with more than $10 billion in revenues stated they would consider adopting at an earlier date. And, interestingly, 50 percent of respondents from companies with $1 billion or less in revenues also expressed interest in early adoption.

Seventy-three percent of respondents from companies with more than half of their operations outside the United States also voiced interest in early IFRS adoption, while a third of respondents with less than 50 percent of their operations outside the United States indicated they would consider adopting prior to 2014.