IASB accountability questioned

McCreevy said the new accounting procedures were too complicated and needed to be simplified.

The former Irish minister also questioned how the IASB should be funded without compromising its independence.

'We are going to have to address the question of accountability, the question of money, how the (the IASB) is funded, while maintaining its independence,' McCreevy told the Financial Times.

McCreevy's comments follow a fall-out between the IASB and the EU over the new accounting standard for derivatives, IAS39. The EU feels the standard has not taken into account the interests of banks and businesses in the region.

Tension has been mounting between the IASB, which drafts the regulations, and the European Commission, which has to approve them before they take effect in Europe.