WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators yesterday proposed a plan to allow public companies to begin using international accounting standards for reporting financial results in two years, and may require them to do so starting in 2014.

The push by the Securities and Exchange Commission toward acceptance of a single, global accounting standard has raised objections from some investor advocates and key lawmakers. Supporters of the change say it makes sense in an era of increasingly globalised financial markets and would help lure foreign companies to US markets.

The five SEC commissioners voted unanimously at a public meeting to propose a timetable for the switch to international financial reporting standards, or IFRS, to replace the US standards known as generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP.

Under the proposal, US companies would have the option of adopting the international standards starting in 2010.