IASB and FASB Commit to a Global Approach to Enhance Market Confidence
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have announced further details on their joint approach to dealing with reporting issues arising from the global financial crisis. The boards reiterated the importance of working co-operatively and in an internationally co-ordinated manner to consider accounting issues emerging from the global crisis. The boards also emphasised the role of high quality financial reporting in helping enhance confidence in the financial markets by responding in a timely manner that improves transparency and provides greater global consistency in financial reporting. Building on their announcement of Thursday 16 October regarding the establishment of a joint advisory group, the boards agreed to the following measures: rapid appointment of a high-level advisory group, public roundtables in Asia, Europe, and North America, and common long-term solutions to reporting of financial instruments. The boards will use their joint discussion paper, Reducing Complexity in Reporting Financial Instruments, the responses received to the discussion paper, and the deliberations of the high-level advisory group as starting points for this longer term objective. The boards will reconsider the composition of the existing IASB Financial Instruments Working Group to ensure that working group provides appropriate and balanced advice to both boards.