EU official attacks IASB governance

Sir David Tweedie

A top EU official has attacked the international accounting standard setter suggesting its governance needs a complete overhaul.

Reuters reports that Eddy Wymeersch, chairman of the European Securities Regulators (CESR), questioned whether there was enough accountability at the IASB.

Reuters quotes Wymeersch saying: “I can remind you the CESR thought it should be in the monitoring group but that did not take place. In my view, this has to be drawn up again and start from scratch.”

Wymeersch was speaking at a meeting of the European parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee.

The EU is yet to endorse the IASB revamp of fair value accounting led by chairman Sir David Tweedie. It is understood that some countries, including Germany and France, believe reforms do not go far enough in restricting the use of fair value accounting.

Fair value has been under attack since the beginning of the credit crunch with top businessmen and politicians blaming the accounting principle for the massive write-downs that took place across many financial services institutions.