Date:    05/22/2000  2:23 PM

Subject: Concept Release on International Accounting Standards

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (Institute) would like 
to provide support for the use of Financial Statements drawn up in 
accordance with International Accounting Standards for use by US based 
Inventors instead of the current requirement to either lodge Financial 
Statements that comply with US GAAP or provide a reconciliation to US GAAP.
     
Discussions with an SEC staff Member Mary Tokar who is also Chair of the 
IOSCO Technical Committee that has recently (last week in Australia) 
released its Report into IASC Accounting Standards, has drawn the 
Institute's attention to the SEC's Concept Release.
     
The Institute has provided significant moral and financial support to the 
Australian Accounting Standards Board to harmonise Australian Accounting 
Standards with International Accounting Standards issued by the IASC, and 
our experience with this Harmonisation Program is that IASC Accounting 
Standards are of sufficient high quality so that Investors are able to make 
economic rational decisions on equity transactions.
     
The Institute  would appreciate if the above comments could be included with 
other Submissions made on the Concept Release.
     
Please contact me if you require any further information.
     
     
Regards
     
Keith Reilly
Chartered Accountant
Technical Consultant
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia 
ABN 50 084 642 571
Level 10
Chartered Accountants House
37 York Street
Sydney 2000
(GPO Box 3921
Sydney 2001)
New South Wales
Australia
DX1257 Sydney

     
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                     2000-11
     
SEC Approves Concept Release on International Accounting Standards
     
     Washington, DC, February 16, 2000 -- The Securities and
Exchange Commission today unanimously approved and issued for 
public comment a concept release regarding the use of international 
accounting standards.  The release seeks feedback from domestic and 
foreign parties regarding both acceptance of International 
Accounting Standards Committee standards and the broader issue of 
shaping a global financial structure for increasingly globalized 
capital markets.
     
     The release solicits comment regarding the quality of the IASC
standards and raises questions regarding what supporting 
infrastructure is necessary in an environment where issuers and 
auditors often are multinational organizations, providing financial 
information in many countries.
     
     The release seeks to identify what important concerns would be
raised by acceptance of IASC standards; and then asks for comment 
on whether the Commission should modify its current requirement for 
all financial statements to be reconciled to U.S. GAAP.
     
     The release emphasizes a desire to gain knowledge of
respondents' first hand experience with IASC standards.  In 
particular, it asks about experiences that (a) issuers have had 
with applying IASC standards when preparing financial statements; 
(b) public accountants have had with auditing the application of 
IASC standards; and (c) investors have had with using financial 
statements prepared using IASC standards.
     
     A 90-day public comment period will commence upon publication
of the release in the Federal Register.
     
     A detailed fact sheet and statement by Chairman Arthur Levitt
are also available.
     
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