The ASB has established six committees to assist it in carrying out its functions:
The Urgent Issues Task Force (UITF)
The Committee on Accounting for Smaller Entities (CASE)
The Financial Sector and Other Special Industries Committee (FSOSIC)
The Committee on Accounting for Public-benefit Entities (CAPE)
Advisory Panel on With-Profits Life Assurance
Advisory Committee on the OFR
Advisory Panel on Pensions
The main role of the UITF is to assist the ASB in areas where an accounting standard or Companies Act provision exists, but where unsatisfactory or conflicting interpretations have developed or seem likely to develop. Its consensus pronouncements are issued as UITF Abstracts, which the ASB expects be regarded as accepted practice in the area in question, and part of the corpus of practices forming the basis for what determines a true and fair view. Consequently a UITF Abstract may be taken into consideration by the FRRP in deciding whether a company's financial statements call for review.
The main role of CASE is to keep under review the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (FRSSE),and to advise the ASB both on changes to the FRSSE and generally on such matters relating to smaller entities as the ASB may from time to time request.
FSOSIC and the CAPE are advisory committees to assist the ASB in supervising the development of Statements of Recommended Practice (SORPs). Until July 2005 CAPE was known as Public Sector and Not-for-profit Committee ('PSNC'). In short, SORPs are developed by bodies that are recognised by the ASB, and have agreed to follow the ASB's Code of Practice for recognised bodies. SORPs contain a statement by the ASB that the SORP does not contain any principle that is unacceptable in the context of current accounting practice or that conflicts with current or proposed accounting standards.
The Advisory Panel on With-Profits Life Assurance was established to help the Board in meeting the request from HM Treasury to carry out an urgent study into the accounting for with-profits business by life insurers, following the points raised by Lord Penrose in the report of his inquiry into Equitable Life.
The Advisory Committee on the OFR was established to assist the Board in its responsibilities for issuing the first standard for a statutory OFR, following a Government announcement that it intends to specify the Board in legislation as the body to make the standards for a mandatory OFR.
