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European Will Oversee Accounting StandardsAfter a search that lasted more than a year, the body that governs the International Accounting Standards Board has found a new chairman, Gerrit Zalm, who was the Dutch finance minister for more than 11 years. The International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, which both appoints members of the standards board and raises money for its operations, has come under considerable pressure in Europe from some politicians who think the board should be more accountable to governments, and should pay more attention to their opinions in setting accounting standards. International accounting standards are gaining acceptance in many countries in the world, although in some cases governments have ordered exceptions, and the United States is considering accepting them beginning with reports filed in early 2009. The European Commission, acting at the behest of French banks, decided that European companies could ignore part of one standard, dealing with derivatives, and said the standards board should find a way to work out a compromise that would satisfy the banks. Despite several rounds of talks, no compromise has emerged. Backers of the standards board say they believe that it must be viewed as an independent body that sets standards based on principles, not through a consensus of interested parties, and that the standards should be uniform rather than subject to national variations. That was the view of the first chairman of the foundation, Paul A. Volcker, the former chairman of the United States Federal Reserve. When he stepped down in 2005, the trustees began a search for a chairman who was known and respected by European governments and favored an independent standard-setter. Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa became chairman in early 2006, but left almost immediately when he became Italian finance minister. Philip A. Laskawy, an American and former chairman of Ernst & Young, took the post while the trustees searched for an acceptable European. Mr. Zalm was deputy prime minister and finance minister in the Netherlands from 2003 until February of this year, after a stint as finance minister from 1994 to 2002. He is now the chief economist for DSB Bank, a consultant to PricewaterhouseCoopers and to Permira, a private equity fund. Mr. Zalm takes office at the end of this year. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationLift in rates now odds-on bet...Bloggers Take on Talk Radio Hosts... A Split-Up of Insurers of Bonds Is Considered... Howzat? IPL raises $720m$... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - European Will Oversee Accounting Standards |
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