Paul Pacter takes place on IASB

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has announced the appointment of Paul Pacter, who authored the controversial fair value standard which came under pressure from policy makers in the wake of the financial crisis.

Pacter, 67, is well known in accounting circles, and began his career with the US standard setter, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and, recently, on the IASB’s set of standards for small and medium sized businesses.

Based in Hong Kong, Pacter is also known for his maintenance of Deloitte’s IAS plus website, which offers guidance on international accounting rules. Pacter also helped to write the IASB’s standard known as IAS 39, which led to dramatic changes in how financial institutes valued their assets.

IAS 39 is based on the fair value principle used to measure assets at their market prices. Following the crisis this forced banks to write down billions of pounds in assets as liquidity dried up in once active markets.

IASB chairman, David Tweedie, described Pacter as a “walking encyclopaedia on global financial reporting”.

“He served as the determined leader of the development of the IFRS for SMEs, is an expert in both IFRSs and US GAAP, and in his spare time has run one of the most popular financial reporting websites on the Internet. He will bring a global perspective and immense energy to the Board,” he said.

Pacter replaces Jim Leisenring on the board and will begin at the end of June 2010.

Further reading: Profile: Paul Pacter, international standard setter