The IASB seeks closer cooperation
with securities regulators in the effort to ensure that IFRS are consistently
enforced globally. In remarks before the Federacion Argentina de Consejos
Profesionales de Ciencias Economicas, IASB Chair Hans Hoogervorst cautioned
that the goal of having global accounting standards will be an illusion if such
standards are not consistently enforced globally. The IASB is not a securities
regulator, said the Chair, and does not have the resources or knowledge to
monitor overall adherence to accounting standards. For that reason, the Board has
begun discussions with the International Organization of Securities Commissions
(IOSCO) to deepen cooperation in the future.
A more structured and deeper
cooperation between the IASB and securities regulatory commissions will be
beneficial to both parties. Securities regulators can provide the Board with
information on possible weaknesses of IFRS standards and difficulties in
enforcement, noted the Chair, while the IASB can give securities regulators
insight into the meaning of the standards, which should them achieve
compliance.
More broadly, he said that the Board
plans to have a more structured dialogue with the community of standard setters
and regulators. The issue of standards has long been a collaborative exercise,
he noted, and the quality and robustness of the standards is an important step
for many organizations and individuals who contribute to the Board’s work. The
best example is the interaction between the IASB and the global community of
standard setters.
This interaction occurs in different
ways. In the last decade, the Board has worked on a bilateral basis with the
FASB and other national standard setters. At the same time, there has been the
emergence of regional organizations with an interest in the issue of standards,
such as the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). These national and regional bodies can
contribute much to the IASB standard-setting. As the use of IFRS grows, so does
the importance of working together to ensure that they are given due
consideration to the views of all parts of the world.
The Board needs to establish a more
structured and formal relationships with the community of global standard-setters
and connect with these organizations at the beginning of the standard-setting process
in order integrate a global perspective into the process. The Chair reasoned that
the dialogue between the IASB and national or regional standard setting bodies
will only make sense if the number of people sitting at the discussion table is
not too large. Thus, the Board will have the challenging task of building a dialogue
that is both compact and inclusive. He
is confident that the Board will meet this challenge.