International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)

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Introduction to International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)

Being founded on February 6, 2001, as an independent accounting standard setter, the IASB is a London-based organization which seeks out to set and enforce standards for accounting procedures. At present, more than 100 countries require or permit companies to comply with IASB standards. Moreover, IASB is also responsible for maintaining the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). The organization was preceded by the IASC (International Accounting Standards Committee) being the parent entity.

The IASB Framework

The International Accounting Standards (IASB) Framework is the framework employed for the preparing and presenting Financial Statements. The IASB Framework was approved by the IASC Board in April 1989 and then adopted by the IASB in April 2001.

The basic purpose of the IASB Framework is to provide assistance and guidance to the IASB in developing new or revised standards in addition to assisting the preparers of financial statements in applying the standards and dealing with issues which are not explicitly dealt with by the standards. However, the framework does not have the force of a Standard. Therefore, in case of a conflict between the Framework and the Standard will prevail over the Framework.

Members of IASB

The IASB contains 15 members, each possessing one vote. These members are selected as a group of experts with a blend of experience of standard-setting, preparing and using accounts, and academic work. These members include (as on October, 2011):

Hans Hoogervorst (Chairman), Netherlands, former Minister of Finance, 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