ASB visit to Japan
During January, ASB Chairman Ian Mackintosh and Technical Director David Loweth visited Japan to hold discussions with the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ), the Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) and Japanese market participants. The visit was timely given the announcement made by the Japanese FSA in December to allow for the voluntary application of IFRS by Japanese listed companies whose financial or operational activities are conducted internationally, for fiscal years beginning on or after 31 March 2010.
National Standard-Setters (NSS) meeting April 2010
As part of the ASB's influencing role, Ian Mackintosh chairs a group of national accounting standardsetters from around the world, plus other organisations that have a close involvement in financial reporting issues. Preparations are underway for the next meeting of the NSS group, which will take place in Seoul on 14-15 April.
International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) Review of the Constitution
As reported in Inside Track 59, the IASCF Constitution commits the Trustees to undertake a five-yearly review of the organisation's constitutional arrangements. The second such review is now underway. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) responded to the Trustees' latest consultation 'Proposals for Enhanced Public Accountability' in November. The response is available at http://www.frc.org.uk/publications/pub2179.html and highlights a number of key messages:
- the convergence of national accounting standards and IFRS should not be an objective of the organisation, but rather considered as one of the means by which a set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards could be enhanced;
- the IASB should consult widely and publicly on its agenda priorities as part of discharging its accountability and in demonstrating that its activities are in the public interest; and
- while the FRC supports the notion of a fast-track procedure for dealing with urgent changes to IFRS, this should happen only in rare circumstances and where there is a clear justification, with a minimum 30 day consultation period.
