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The European Union is pushing for a wider role in the London-based organisation. The IASB tends to be regarded by many as too Anglo-Saxon in its approach to accounting. Mr McCreevy also has concerns over the independence of the IASB and how the institution is funded.
The IASB is funded by contributions collected from the major accounting firms, private financial institutions and industrial companies throughout the world, central and development banks, and other international and professional organisations.
“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. Because of the structure, the Commission has no direct say in the drafting of rules, although it has to approve them before they become EU law.
Mr McCreevy also urged the Board to redraft as quickly as possible an accounting standard that EU regulators spurned. McCreevy said the new accounting procedures were too complicated and needed to be simplified. The EU feels the standard has not taken into account the interests of banks and businesses in the region.
Tom Jones, the vice-chairman of the IASB said: “In the long run, we need to rethink the whole area of financial instruments which are very complex and looking at ways to simplify them.”
The IASB is also to hold meetings with representatives of industry in February to discuss the IAS39 and is expected to meet with opposition from bodies such as the Comité Européen des Assurances (CEA), which represents national associations of insurers. They have criticised the board’s proposals.