Religious Development Group Urges Stronger Corporate Reporting Standards

Jubilee USA, a religious development group, asked the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to require greater disclosure of what payments corporations make to governments where they operate. The Securities‎ and Exchange Commission designates the FASB as the body that sets accounting standards for public corporations in the United States.

In a letter to the FASB, Jubilee USA's Executive Director Eric LeCompte wrote, "The developing world loses more than a trillion dollars a year because of tax evasion, tax avoidance and corruption. The problem is difficult to address because of a lack of public data.‎"

Development groups like Jubilee USA view stronger reporting standards as a vehicle to raise revenue for human needs in the United States and around the world.

"It's critical that large companies report their income, assets and numbers of employees for every country where they do business," said LeCompte regarding the letter. "This basic reporting can stop corruption and raise money to address poverty."