The International Accounting Standards Board has accelerated its project to replace controversial accounting rules on financial instruments. An update published after a recent board meeting says it will now publish an exposure draft on the classification and measurement of financial instruments by July 2009. Previously it said the proposals would not be available until October. […]
Global Glimpses
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
Europe Speeds Up Financial Regulation Reform Plan
The European Commission has accelerated plans to create a new regulatory framework for financial services firms. Announcing more detail on the trading bloc’s plans and a timetable for the needed legal changes, Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said he wanted it up and running next year, not 2012 as originally proposed. The Commission’s plan is […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Governance Metrics “Inadequate,” says Study
Shareholder advisers need to rethink the way they assess corporate governance at companies because some of the most widely used metrics are “inadequate,” according to a research paper from two respected academics. Rankings such as the Corporate Governance Quotient (developed by Institutional Shareholder Services, now part of proxy agency Risk Metrics) are important, but suffer […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
IASB Boosts User Voice
Two leading investment analysts have joined the International Accounting Standards Board. The move is a response to critics who claim theoretical accountants dominate the board, meaning users’ views are drowned out. The new members are Patrick Finnegan, an accounting expert at the CFA Institute, an association representing investment managers, and Patricia McConnell, until recently an […]
Posted inEurope
Europe Rules Out “No Comment” on Leaks
European companies could find it harder to deflect media reports and market rumors with a blanket “no comment” under new guidance from securities regulators. If a publication or rumor is so specific that it looks like inside information has leaked, “a policy of staying silent or of ‘no comment’ by the issuer would not be […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
China’s Corporate Governance Improves, Slowly
Corporate governance practices at China’s biggest listed companies are improving, but weak internal controls remains a “pervasive issue,” according to a new study. For most Chinese listed companies, introducing the kind of enterprise-level internal controls and risk management systems needed to underpin good governance “is still at its nascent stage,” said the report written by […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Banks Need to Boost CRO Role
European banks need to boost the profile and clout of their chief risk officers (CROs), as too many businesses sidelined this important role in the run-up to the financial crisis, according to a report from governance consultancy Nestor Advisors. The report—Bank Boards and the Financial Crisis—found that in 2007 only one of Europe’s 25 biggest […]
Posted inFrom the Archive
Europe Turns the Screw on IASB
European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has turned the screw on the International Accounting Standards Board, saying there was “growing concern” among European finance ministers about its response to the economic crisis. If the board doesn’t change, its funding will be cut, he threatened. McCreevy said in a conference speech that ministers felt the IASB had an […]
Posted inEurope
European Commission Gets Tougher on Executive Pay
The European Commission has unveiled a tougher approach to executive pay and said it will issue draft laws that will allow regulators to intervene in financial sector pay awards. The Commission’s last guidance on executive remuneration, issued in 2004, was widely ignored, but Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy insisted these two new missives would make […]
Posted inAccounting & Auditing
G20 Told to Leave IASB Alone
The International Accounting Standards Board must be allowed to focus its efforts on a fundamental rewrite of its rules on financial assets and should not be forced to respond to every short-term policy shift announced by the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board, according to a body created to advise both boards. The Financial Crisis Advisory […]
