The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), parent group of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) as well as USA’s Governmental Accounting Standards Board, yesterday issued a proposal on a major overhaul of the FASB board, giving its chairman Robert Herz the power to set the technical FASB agenda.
The FAF proposals put out for public comment reduce FASB’s size to five members from seven and allow the chairman to decide whether to place issues on the board’s agenda, which is seen as a measure to achieve a more focused board.

Under the proposal, FASB will also require specific backgrounds for its members from each of four areas – investing, auditing, preparing financial statements and the academic area.

FAF said the present agency setting was inefficient and giving the FASB chair the decision-making authority to decide the board’s agenda would further facilitate and improve the interface with the International Accounting Standards Board.

Further reading:

FASB launches webcasts on IFRS

FASB sees its future as part of IASB