ASB decides on future role

The future of standard setting in the UK could be decided today as the
Accounting Standards Board meets to thrash out proposals for reform.

The board convenes this morning to discuss responses to the questions it
posed on its future in relation to convergence with International Financial
Reporting Standards and its communication strategy.

The UK’s listed companies are already required to produce full accounts using
IFRS, rather than UK GAAP, and the board’s stated intention in the past has been
to move UK standards into alignment with their international counterparts.

‘I am hopeful of getting some preliminary decisions from the board,’ said ASB
chairman Ian Mackintosh.

Any decisions taken will draw on written responses and feedback from a public
meeting last month where views from some of the most influential figures in
accountancy were aired.

But no clear consensus was reached by attendees on how many of the UK’s
private companies should use full IFRS. Many suggested that all but the largest
companies should use the SME standard when it arrives, while an equally large
number want to see the introduction of a scaled down IFRS for larger private
firms.

There were also differing opinions on the role the ASB should play in
influencing standard development on the international stage, with some wanting
it to represent UK interests while others felt this should be left to individual
companies and bodies.