[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5024 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5024
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 26, 2006
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require annual oral testimony before the Financial Services
Committee of the Chairperson or a designee of the Chairperson of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Accounting Standards
Board, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, relating to
their efforts to promote transparency in financial reporting.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Transparency in Financial
Reporting Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Transparent and clear financial reporting is integral
to the continued growth and strength of our capital markets and
the confidence of investors.
(2) The increasing detail and volume of accounting,
auditing, and reporting guidance pose a major challenge.
(3) The complexity of accounting and auditing standards in
the United States has added to the costs and effort involved in
financial reporting.
SEC. 3. ANNUAL TESTIMONY ON REDUCING COMPLEXITY IN FINANCIAL REPORTING.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Accounting
Standards Board, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
shall annually provide oral testimony by their respective Chairpersons
or a designee of the Chairperson, beginning in 2007, and for 5 years
thereafter, to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives on their efforts to reduce the complexity in financial
reporting to provide more accurate and clear financial information to
investors, including--
(1) reassessing complex and outdated accounting standards;
(2) improving the understandability, consistency, and
overall usability of the existing accounting and auditing
literature;
(3) developing principles-based accounting standards;
(4) encouraging the use and acceptance of interactive data;
and
(5) promoting disclosures in ``plain English''.
Passed the House of Representatives July 25, 2006.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.