PREVIEW-Rulemakers plan global overhaul of lease accounting
By Emily Chasan
NEW YORK, Aug 15 (Reuters) – U.S. and international accounting rule makers are planning to propose an overhaul of lease accounting as soon as Tuesday, in a move expected to affect some $1.2 trillion in leased assets.
IASB: single set of accounting rules on track
By Huw Jones
LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) – The world’s top accounting bodies are on track to thrash out a common set of rules by the middle of next year, the International Accounting Standards Board said on Tuesday.
The G20 group of countries set the ambitious deadline last year to make it simpler for cross-border companies and investors but differences over how to value some complex assets have raised concerns about the timetable.
Last month the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it would commit to a new work plan that would delay any move to international standards until at least 2015.
The IASB, whose rules are used by listed companies in over 115 countries, including the European Union but not the United States, said it has stepped up meetings with its U.S. peer, the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
“In our soon to be published report, the Boards will state that despite the challenging technical issues to resolve, we remain on schedule to achieve the June 2011 target,” IASB Chairman David Tweedie told EU finance ministers in a statement made available to the media.
“These intensive discussions are achieving positive results. We plan to publish seven joint proposals in the next quarter. The Boards individually will also propose other changes to bring their own standards in line with each other,” Tweedie said.
ANALYSIS – Asia may have edge in top IASB accounting job
By Huw Jones
LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) – The hunt for a new chairman of the world’s top accounting standard setter is sparking discrete jostling for a job Asian candidates are seen having the edge as economic influence shifts east.
International Accounting Standards Board Chairman David Tweedie stands down in June 2011 after a decade spent transforming an obscure committee into a board whose rules are effectively law in over 120 countries, including the European Union.
Japan, Canada, India, Korea and Brazil are also adopting IASB rules, with China bringing its domestic standards in line too. The United States is left increasingly isolated as it decides how to join the club and when.
The Asian crisis of the 1990s sparked the need for a global approach to accounting but the credit crunch politicised standard setting as policymakers changes after blaming accounting for amplifying fallout from the financial crisis.
A replacement for Britain’s Tweedie will need to be a skilled diplomat and comfortable debating the minutiae of financial reporting, industry officials said.
Which is why the hunt has started so early.
Global accounting body IASB shores up defences, investor focus
By Huw Jones
LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) – The world’s leading accounting standards setter bolstered its defences from political pressure on Monday and reinforced its role as an independent guide to investors rather than a tool for policymakers.
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) sets accounting principles that are effectively law in over 100 countries but has been criticised for being aloof and slow to respond to policymaker concerns during the financial crisis.
Its rules will form the bedrock for one set of global standards by mid-2011 as called for by the G20 group of leading nations to improve transparency for investors and cut red tape for companies.
“These changes, which are aimed at enhancing public accountability, stakeholder engagement and operational effectiveness, complete the second part of the …. constitution review,” the IASB said in a statement.
Pressure on the IASB has pitted accountants — who say financial statements should be a snapshot health check on a company — against policymakers who see a financial stability role for accounting rules such as smoothing out losses at banks.
Policymakers in the EU, where IASB rules are mandatory for 8,000 companies, put heavy pressure on the IASB last year to accelerate reform of its fair value or mark-to-market rule to ease pressure on banks that have to price assets at depressed going rates.
INTERVIEW-Plan B may keep accounting convergence on track – IASB
By Huw Jones
LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) – A patch-up solution to keep the goal of a single global accounting system on track may be needed due to differences over how standard setters are reforming a rule blamed for amplifying the credit crunch.
Two rival accounting systems could feature extra disclosures allowing analysts to make comparisons between different fair value rules, the chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), David Tweedie, told Reuters Insider.
The G20 group of leading countries has set a mid-2011 deadline for converging the world’s main accounting rules.
It is a long-time goal of multinational companies which want to cut red tape and would also make it easier for international investors to compare companies from different countries.
Two of the world’s top standard setters are reforming their fair value or mark-to-market rule which requires banks to value some assets at the going rate. It led to huge writedowns at the height of the credit crunch, sparking calls in Europe to curb its scope.
The IASB has begun changing its fair value rule in a move which UBS analysts say will reduce its use. The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), however, has signalled it wants to broaden the scope of its fair value rule.
International accounting board rejects U.S. “fair value” rule plans
By Huw Jones LONDON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The top accounting rule setter said on Wednesday that U.S. plans to widen the scope of a rule blamed for amplifying the credit crunch was unacceptable, raising doubts over a 2011 deadline for a global set of accounting rules.
Drive for international accounting convergence slows
By Huw Jones LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) – The credit crisis is hindering as well as helping the drive to create a globally accepted set of accounting rules, and it may take intervention by world leaders to keep the effort on track.
Global accounting board drafts changes to fair value rule
LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) – The International Accounting Standards Board on Tuesday published draft plans to simplify its fair value rule that has been criticised by European Union finance ministers for amplifying the financial crisis. (more…)
Germany seeks to ease parts of Basel II capital rules
By Marcin Grajewski and Huw Jones BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – Germany wants to relax global rules on capital charges to ease writedown pressures on banks holding toxic assets, an EU document showed on Wednesday. European Union finance ministers meet next week and will be asked to endorse a report from their Economic and Financial Committee on how to stop rules amplifying market turmoil. (more…)
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