Exhibit 5-5 presents the reconciliation disclosures made by the Swiss company Novartis.As discussed in the chapter, the

Question:

Exhibit 5-5 presents the reconciliation disclosures made by the Swiss company Novartis.As discussed in the chapter, the U.S. SEC requires foreign listed firms to present reconciliation information for material differences in net income (loss), and shareholders' equity.

Required:

a. Discuss why the SEC requires such reconciliation disclosures.

b. Specifically, how would U.S. investors use information presented in such disclosures?

c. Identify the three IFRS/U.S. GAAP accounting principles differences that have the largest impact on financial measures of Novartis for each of the periods shown.

GAAP
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is the accounting standard adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While the SEC previously stated that it intends to move from U.S. GAAP to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the...