Key IASB project is 'not under-staffed'
The IASB has played down suggestions that it does not have enough staff to handle a key project looking at off-balance sheet accounting
The board accidentally published an ‘observer note’ on one of its meetings
recently. The note, written by technical experts at the
IASB, made candid
admissions about how the project to overhaul current off-balance sheet rules
lost momentum because of staff turnover and ‘relative inexperience’.
The note also recommended the urgent appointment of a senior figure to take
charge of the off-balance sheet accounting project.
‘We cannot afford the luxury of waiting for the newly assigned staff to get
up to speed,’ the note said.
The IASB this week played down the comments: ‘On this occasion the observer
note was erroneously posted before the board paper had been finalised. In order
that the observer note is in sync with the actual board paper discussed at the
meeting we took it down and hope to post the finalised version early next week…
The report in no way criticised staff performance it simply referenced the
challenges matching resources with a demanding schedule of high priority
projects,’ an IASB spokesman said.
The IASB’s staffing issues were also raised at a meeting of its Standards
Advisory Council in November last year.
At the time, the former chairman of the foundation that oversees the IASB’s
work. Philip Laskawy admitted: ‘The size of the technical staff is well below
probably what it should be.’