Former President of ASCG elected next IFASS Chair

The International Forum of Accounting Standard Setters (IFASS) has elected Ms Liesel Knorr, former president of the Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (ASCG), as Chair-designate. Standard setters representing 37 jurisdictions and regional organisations were eligible to vote. Ms Knorr will assume office in early April following the IFASS spring meeting to be held in Toronto. She follows Ms Tricia O’Malley, past chairman of the Accounting Standards Board of Canada (AcSB) and IASB member from 2001 to 2007. According to the IFASS procedures, the term of the IFASS Chairman is two years with an automatic option to seek a third year. Concurrent with the change in chairmanship, the secretariat will move from the Canadian to the German standard setter.

IFASS is a self-governed body made up of national standard setters meeting twice a year. The autumn meeting is traditionally held in London concurrently with the IASB’s World Standard Setters meeting, whereas the spring meeting is normally held outside of Europe. IFASS is primarily acting as a platform for national standard setters to discuss current issues and developments in international financial reporting. The IASB participates in these meetings on equal footing with national standard setters. Further, the IASB uses IFASS to conduct outreach, especially for queries lodged with the IFRS Interpretations Committee, to gather information on the practical relevance, prevalence, and current practice of potential agenda item requests.

The President of the ASCG, Andreas Barckow, comments on the election: “I am happy for Liesel Knorr and the ASCG, who sponsored her nomination, that her candidacy for becoming IFASS Chair has been successful. This is a well-deserved recognition of her long-standing presence on the international stage. I wish to express my deepest thanks to my colleagues at the fellow standard setters for their trust and am looking forward to support Liesel in her new role.”