Hoogervorst appointment

There was a sting in the tail after today’s announcement that Hans Hoogervorst will replace Sir David Tweedie as head of the IASB.

I’m not taking issue with the appointment. By all accounts Hoogervorst has extensive technical and political experience which will serve I’d expect as he attempts to grow the IASB.

I guess my only reservations come from an exchange with his office in the lead up to the announcement.

In June we asked his office at the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets, whether he was, to his knowledge, a candidate (after nominations had closed). After much to-ing and fro-ing we received an emphatic response: “The answer is no”.

In the broad scheme of things this is a minor point. The work of the IASB, and Hoogervorst’s efforts to grow the body, and release high quality standards – that’s the real story here.

And perhaps there was some confusion or some legitimate reason for the denials. Let’s hope there is more clarity from now on.