US oversight body to embark on listening tour

A US financial oversight body is embarking on a listening tour aimed at gathering feedback which will could lead to reform of financial regulation in the United States, Reuters reports.

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) trustees, which oversee the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), will tour the US meeting with small groups of investors, auditors and academics whose views will help shape the future US reform agenda.

FASB spokesman Neal McGarity said the tour was a continuation of the work the FAF trustees had undertaken over the last few years.

`Although it's not something new, it's a strategic and ambitious program to map out the course ahead,' he said.

One issue likely to come up is convergence between international and US accounting standards, which is expected to be largely completed by the end of 2010.

The move comes as FASB comes under under fire by advisory group, the Investors Technical Advisory Committee, which said the regulator's independence was being eroded by pressure from congress and the financial industry.

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