Notícias sobre o novo chefe do Iasb IV

Hans Hoogervorst, co-chair of the committee that helped steer accounting standard-setters through the financial crisis, will replace Sir David Tweedie at the IASB.

Former Dutch finance minister Hans Hoogervorst has been tapped to succeed Sir David Tweedie as chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board. The appointment was announced Tuesday by the trustees of the IFRS Foundation, the parent organization of the IASB.

Tweedie, who will step down at the end of June 2011, has been the only chairman of the IASB since its founding in 2001. His legacy undoubtedly will be his effort to establish international financial reporting standards as a global set of rules. Today, IFRS has been adopted by more than 100 countries.

Hoogervorst is currently chairman of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, the Dutch securities and market regulator; chairman of the technical committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissioners; and co-chair of the Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG), an independent body of senior leaders formed to advise accounting standard-setters on their response to the global financial crisis. He is also chair of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board. He will give up these roles when he joins the IASB next summer.

Hoogervorst's experience and background made him an "immensely attractive" candidate, says Robert Glauber, vice chair of the IASB trustees, the group that appoints board members. "On the crucial issue of independence, his record is crystal clear: he is deeply committed to investor protection and to the independence of standard setting, and he is willing to stand up and speak strongly in defense of what he believes."

Board independence became a high-profile issue during the height of the financial crisis. At the time, politicians from the European Union forced the IASB to circumvent its due process and quickly push out accounting rules related to financial instruments as a way of addressing a perceived disadvantage between U.S. and EU corporations. Hoogervorst will "strongly" defend the board's independence, "partly because of his background and partly because of his personality," says Tom Jones, former vice chair of IASB and currently director of Pace University's Center for the Study of International Accounting Standards. "You can't set standards by negotiation, it's impossible, and [Hoogervorst] is the guy that knows that well," says Jones.

Indeed, in a May 2009 interview with CFO, Hoogervorst spoke candidly about the forces that strong-armed the IASB during the financial crisis. The banks and politicians who apply "continuous pressure" on standard-setters to alter fair-value and impairment rules have "no natural interest in transparency," he said. As co-chair of the FCAG, he said he felt "increasingly uncomfortable" with the "lopsided" standards that could result if the politicians got their way.

Hoogervorst's appointment comes two weeks after Robert Herz announced his retirement as chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Herz left FASB 2 years shy of his second term, while Tweedie is finishing out his 10-year stint at the IASB.

Former Dutch Regulator to Head IASB - Marie Leone - 12/10/2010

Notícias sobre o novo chefe do Iasb III

Michel Barnier, the EU's internal market commissioner, has hailed the appointment of ex-Dutch Finance Minister Hans Hoogervorst as head of the International Accounting Standards Board, the international standard-setter. He will take over from David Tweedie, the sitting head, next June. The move will be closely watched by European policy makers anxious to push the US to adopt the IASB's new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which are currently being absorbed into EU law. "IFRS are the only credible option if we want to create a single accounting framework for listed companies worldwide," Barnier said in a statement, on 12 October. The US intends to make a decision next year on whether it will change over from its GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) system, although the problem of how to value assets in the event of future market crashes continues to cause divisions on both sides of the Atlantic.

BARNIER WELCOMES NEW IASB HEAD - Europolitics

(ADPnews) - Oct 12, 2010 - The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on Tuesday named Hans Hoogervorst its new chairman, replacing Sir David Tweedie, the Financial Times reports.

The former finance minister of the Netherlands, who now heads the country's stock market regulator, is to take the place of Tweedie, who has held the post for ten years, at the end of next June.

The appointment of Hoogervorst, who is not an accountant but a former politician, reflects the important role ascribed to accounting by governments after the financial crisis.

Ian Mackintosh, who heads the UK Accounting Standards Board and was tipped by some as the front-runner to replace Tweedie, was named vice-chairman of the IASB, which sets the International Financial Reporting Standards.

Hans Hoogervorst to become IASB chairman
British Business Monitor

Notícias sobre o novo chefe do Iasb II

A notícia da Nova Zelândia destaca Ian Mackintosh, o "preterido":

Wellington, Oct 13 NZPA - A New Zealand accountant who missed out on replacing the ground-breaking British chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has been appointed deputy to a former Dutch politician, Hans Hoogervorst, who took the job.

New Zealander Ian Mackintosh -- who currently chairs the UK Accounting Standards Board -- is reported to have been considered a front-runner to replace the outgoing chairman, Sir David Tweedie, but "apparently the idea of naming two IASB chairmen in a row from the UK proved to be too much to stomach", according to an accountancy news website, WebCPA.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Hoogervorst -- currently Holland's top securities regulator -- was only appointed at the eleventh hour after European politicians effectively vetoed Mr Mackintosh, who had emerged as front-runner following an exhaustive year-long search.

Mr Mackintosh has previously worked in Australia for Coopers and Lybrand, and as a consultant in his own practice, and is a former chief accountant of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

The New Zealander and the Dutchman will be taking over from Sir David, a Scotsman who has chaired the IASB for 10 years and will be retiring when his term expires next June.

Sir David has made it his mission to spread International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) across the globe, with the major holdout being the United States, and the transition in leadership has raised a question over whether the USA will continue moving towards adopting a comparable standard.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will make a decision next June on whether the process is sufficiently advanced to allow IFRS to be incorporated into the US financial reporting system.

Mr Mackintosh and Mr Hoogervorst will have a full agenda as they try to make sure the US and the rest of the world don't give up on the IFRS standard, while also doing more outreach to Africa, Asia and Latin America to spread the global accounting standards, the website reported.

NZ expert relegated to deputy of accounting body - New Zealand Press Association

Notícias sobre o novo chefe do Iasb

A seguir, uma conjunto de notícias sobre o novo chefe do Iasb.

Farewell, then, to Sir David Tweedie, stepping down as chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board after almost a decade. The Scot has led the push to harmonise international accounting standards and persuaded more than 100 countries to sign up to IFRS guidelines. Plaudits flowed for Sir David as his replacement was named yesterday, but his legacy is far from secure. European regulators are bitterly divided about how banks should account for losses in the wake of the financial crisis and the United States continues to drag its heels about whether to adopt IFRS. Hans Hoogervorst, the Dutchman who will take over, has his work cut out.

Farewell, then, to Sir David Tweedie, [...]; City Diary - Catherine Boyle - 13/10/2010 The Times

Sir David Tweedie will be a tough act to follow. In nearly a decade as chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, he has achieved a degree of global harmonisation of standards that looked pretty inconceivable in 2001. The forceful Scot has persuaded more than a hundred countries to sign up to the IFRS rules. But there is much for his successor, Hans Hoogervorst, to do.

The US regulators have still not decided whether American companies should adopt IFRS, in place of US GAAP. And European regulators are divided over how banks should account for losses in the wake of the financial crisis.

It is no coincidence that, after a year-long search, the IASB has opted for a European politician with regulatory experience. Mr Hoogervorst, a former Dutch minister, is at present head of the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Services Authority.

Mr Hoogervorst, with his political contacts and experience, will be teamed with an experienced standard-setter in the form of Ian Mackintosh, a Kiwi who is currently chairman of the UK Accounting Standards Board.

The boards looks to have picked a good team. It needs one.

Strong team for a tough job; Business Editor's commentary - David Wighton - The Times