International Accounting Standards Board

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The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is the independent, accounting standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation.

The IASB was founded on April 1, 2001, as the successor to the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). It is responsible for developing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS Standards), previously known as International Accounting Standards (IAS) and promoting the use and application of these standards.^[1]

IFRS Foundation[]

The IFRS Foundation’s predecessor body was called the International Accounting Standards Foundation (IASF). It was formed on February 6, 2001. The Foundation changed name to the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS Foundation) on 1 July 2010. It is incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation in Delaware, USA.^[2] The IFRS Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organisation. Its primary objective, as set out in its Constitution,^[3] is to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high-quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS Standards) based upon clearly articulated principles.

Mission Statement[]

According to the Foundation, their mission statement is to "develop IFRS® Standards that bring transparency, accountability and efficiency to financial markets around the world. Our work serves the public interest by fostering trust, growth, and long-term financial stability in the global economy."^[4]

IFRS Standards are developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the independent standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation.^[1] The IASB assumed accounting standard-setting responsibilities from its predecessor body, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), on March 1, 2001. This was the culmination of a restructuring based on the recommendations of the report Recommendations on Shaping IASC for the Future.

The IASB forms part of the three-tier structure employed by the IFRS Foundation and is responsible for setting the IFRS Standards and related technical activities. The IASB is overseen by the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, responsible for the organisation's governance, the appointment of IASB members and funding. The IFRS Foundation is publicly accountable to a Monitoring Board^[5] of capital market authorities.^[6][7]

Members[]

The IASB originally had 14 full-time Board members, each with one vote. They are selected as a group of experts with a mix of experience of standard-setting, preparing and using accounts, market/financial regulation and academic work as well as from diverse geographical backgrounds.^[8] At their January 2009 meeting, the Trustees of the Foundation concluded the first part of the second Constitution Review, announcing the creation of a Monitoring Board and the expansion of the IASB to 16 members and giving more consideration to the geographical composition of the IASB. After the Trustees’ Review of Structure and Effectiveness in 2015, the number of members were in 2016 again set to 14 members.

The IFRS Interpretations Committee has 15 members. It is the IASB’s interpretative body and its brief is to provide timely guidance on application issues that arise in practice.^[9]

A unanimous vote is not necessary in order for the publication of a Standard, exposure draft, or final "IFRIC" Interpretation. The Board's 2016 Constitution states that the publication of an Exposure Draft, or an IFRS Standard (including an IAS Standard or an IFRIC Interpretation of the Interpretations Committee) shall require approval by eight members of the Board, if there are 13 members or fewer, or by nine members if there are 14 members. Other decisions of the Board, including the publication of a Discussion Paper, shall require a simple majority of the members of the Board present at a meeting that is attended by at least 60 per cent of the members of the Board, in person or by telecommunications.^[3]

As of November 2020, the members included:^[10]

• Hans Hoogervorst (Chair), Netherlands, former Minister of Health, Minister of Finance
• Sue Lloyd (Vice-chair)^[11]
• Nick Anderson, UK, Janus Henderson Investor
• Tadeu Cendon, Brazil
• Martin Edelmann, Germany, former Group Reporting at Deutsche Bank AG^[12][13]
• Françoise Flores, France^[14][15]
• Zach Gast, US
• Jianqiao Lu, China
• Bruce Mackenzie, South Africa
• Tom Scott, Canada
• Rika Suzuki, Japan
• Ann Tarca, Australia
• Mary Tokar, US

Former IASB members include James J. Leisenring, Robert P. Garnett (formerly Anglo American PLC),^[16] Mary Barth,^[17] David Tweedie, Gilbert Gélard,^[18] Warren McGregor,^[19] and Tatsumi Yamada (formerly PriceWaterhouseCoopers and KPMG).^[20]

Chairmen[]

On July 1, 2011, Hans Hoogervorst succeeded David Tweedie as Chairman. David Tweedie had served as the Board's Chairman since its creation in 2001.

Due process[]

The IASB Due Process Handbook describes the consultative arrangements of the IASB,^[21] and includes information on how standards are developed.

Funding[]

The IFRS Foundation raises funds for the operation of the IASB.^[22] The majority of the funding is voluntary contributions from jurisdictions that have put in place national financing regimes. The contribution is normally a percentage of the total gross domestic product of all contributing jurisdictions. Additionally, part of the contributions comes from the biggest accounting firms. In 2019, IFRS Foundation's revenue amounted to GBP 31 million, of which GBP 20 million came from contributions and GBP 11 million came from self generated revenue from publications and related activities.^[23]

See also[]

• Bank regulation
• Big Four accounting firms
• BilMoG, the German Accounting Law Reform Act, modernises the German commercial accounting standards
• International Financial Reporting Standards
• Philosophy of accounting

References[]

External links[]

• IASB Official website

National accounting standard-setting bodies

• ICAP The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
• ASBJ Accounting Standards Board of Japan
• ASB-SA Accounting Standards Board - South Africa
• ASRB Accounting Standards Review Board - NZ
• FASAB Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board - US
• FASB Financial Accounting Standards Board - US
• MASB Malaysian Accounting Standards Board
• IPSASB International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board - US/International
• Iran IASB Iranian accounting standards board
• SASC Singapore Accounting Standards Council
• KSR PASB Polish Accounting Standards Board Komitet Standardów Rachunkowości

Discussions

• IFRS List - The online community about IFRS/IAS and Auditing
• CFO.com's FASB-IASB news archive
• FASB and IASB: Dependence Despite Independence (Social Science Research Network paper)