It seems that whenever we switch on the radio in the morning or open a newspaper, the pensions crisis is never far from the headlines.

In October's edition of Inside Track, we reported on the ASB's announcement that it is undertaking a research project into accounting for pensions. The Pensions Advisory Panel has now been appointed and held its first meeting this month, at which it discussed the scope and planning of the project and the issues that should be addressed. Details of the membership of the Panel are as follows.

Andrew Lennard - Technical Director, ASB (Chairman)
John Ashcroft - The Pensions Regulator
Nigel Biggs - Unilever UK
David Blackwood - ICI Group
Clive Bouch - Deloitte
Paul Boyle - Financial Reporting Council
Bob Bridges - Capital Cranfield Pension Trustees Ltd
Roger Cobley - Stamford Associates Ltd
Stephen Cooper - UBS Limited
Sarah Deans - J P Morgan
Andrew Evans - PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Robert Hails - Watson Wyatt Limited
Gary Hibbard - BP plc
Nicki Mortimer - AstraZeneca plc
Lynn Pearcy - KPMG LLP
Derek Scott - Chair, NAPF working group on accounting standards
John Smith - BBC Worldwide
Jeremy Stone - N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd

A European working group has been also formed to give the ASB a European viewpoint. The group includes members of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and other European national standard-setters. Details of the membership of the group have been posted on the ASB website.