The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to approve rule amendments allowing financial statements from foreign private issuers to be accepted without reconciliation to U.S. GAAP only if they are prepared using International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

The rule is intended to help American investors better analyze and get more readily comparable financial information from the U.S.-registered foreign companies. The commission says its action responds to the record number of U.S. investors who own the securities of foreign companies, and the growing need for high-quality accounting standards that transcend borders.

“Consistent application of international accounting standards will help the two-thirds of U.S. investors who own foreign securities to understand and draw better comparisons among investment options than they could with a multiplicity of national accounting standards,” said SEC chairman Christopher Cox.

Cox also announced today that the SEC will convene two roundtables, on December 13 and December 17, to collect more feedback from the public on the issue of giving U.S. domestic issuers the same option that foreign issuers have to use either IFRS or U.S. GAAP.

In addition to improving the consistency and comparability of financial reporting for U.S. investors who own foreign securities, the commission’s rule amendments will also facilitate cross-border capital formation and increase investment opportunities available to U.S. investors, it said.

The rule amendments will take effect 60 days after they are published, and apply to financial statements covering years ended after Nov. 15.