INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING

INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING

Ø  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 (the new name for International Accounting Standards issued after 2001), and promoting the use and application of these standards.

Ø  Foundation

On January 25, 2001, the International Accounting Standards Foundation (IASF) was incorporated as a tax-exempt organization in the US state of Delaware. On February 6, 2001, the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation was also incorporated as a tax-exempt organization in Delaware. The IFRS Foundation is the parent entity of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), an independent accounting standard-setter based in London, England.

On 1 March 2001, the IASB assumed accounting standard-setting responsibilities from its predecessor body, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). This was the culmination of a restructuring based on the recommendations of the report Recommendations on Shaping IASC for the Future.

The IASB structure has the following main features: the IFRS Foundation is an independent organization having two main bodies, the Trustees and the IASB, as well as a IFRS Advisory Council and the IFRS Interpretations Committee (formerly the IFRIC). The IASC Foundation Trustees appoint the IASB members, exercise oversight and raise the funds needed, but the IASB has responsibility for setting International Financial Reporting Standards (international accounting standards).

Ø  Members

The IASB has 14 Board members (12 are full time members and 2 are part time) each with one vote. They are selected as a group of experts with a mix of experience of standard-setting, preparing and using accounts, and academic work. 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.

The IFRS Interpretations Committee has 14 members. Its brief is to provide timely guidance on issues that arise in practice.

A unanimous vote is not necessary in order for the publication of a Standard, exposure draft, or final "IFRIC" Interpretation. The Board's 2008 Due Process manual stated that approval by nine of the members is required.

The members (as of July 2011) are:

• Hans Hoogervorst (Chairman), Netherlands, former Minister of Health, Minister of Finance
• Ian Mackintosh (Vice-chairman), New Zealand, former Coopers & Lybrand, Chief Accountant Australian Securities and Investments Commission
• Stephen Cooper, UK, UBS Investment Research
• Phillipe Danjou, France, former Arthur Andersen, AMF (Financial Markets Authority of France)
• Jan Engström, Sweden, former Volvo Group
• Patrick Finnegan, USA, formerly of the CFA Institute
• Amaro Luiz de Oliveira Gomes
• Prabhakar Kalavacherla (‘PK’) (was an audit partner at KPMG LLP in the San Francisco office )
• Dr Elke König (Germany)
• Patricia McConnell, USA, formerly of Bear Stearns
• Takatsugu Ochi (Japan)
• Paul Pacter (US)
• Darrel Scott (South Africa)
• John T. Smith, USA, former Deloitte, FASB
• Zhang Wei-Guo, China, former Professor in Shanghai, China Acc. Standards Committee

Former IASB members include James J. Leisenring, Robert P. Garnett, Mary Barth, David Tweedie, Gilbert Gélard, Warren McGregor, and Tatsumi Yamada.

Ø  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.

Ø  Due process

The IASB Handbook describes the consultative arrangements of the IASB. The Board also publishes a brief guide on how standards are developed.

Ø  Funding

The IFRS Foundation raises funds for the operation of the IASB. Most contributors are banks and other companies which use or have an interest in promoting international standards. In 2008, American companies gave £2.4m, more than those of any other country. However, contributions fell in the wake of the financial crisis of 2007–2010, and a shortfall was reported in 2010.

Ø  History of International Accounting

This paper examines patterns of dissemination in accounting history research. Empirical evidence supporting this investigation was gathered from: 

(i) all accounting history articles published in three specialised accounting history journals and in 10 generalist journals in accounting between 1990 and 1999;

 (ii) all papers given at the World Congress of Accounting Historians held in Kyoto (1992) and in Kingston (1996); 

(iii) the Societat Italiana di Storia della Ragioneria and papers given at its biannual meetings during the 1990s, and 

(iv) a number of other secondary sources. Patterns of dissemination in accounting history research result in a neglect of the majority of accounting history researchers who are affiliated with non-Anglo-Saxon institutions, conduct their research in non-Anglo-Saxon settings, and focus on observation periods other than 1850-1945. It is argued that accounting history research would benefit from other scholars, settings, and periods of study being reflected in what are usually referred to as "international" journals. The paper poses some suggestions that could enhance the international character of accounting history research.