[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            (1) reassessing complex and outdated accounting standards;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.