Something for you to do

Willem Buiter, reneging on his earlier negativity on the IASB, quotes from a statement made on April 2, 2009 by the Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation:

Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the IASB, reported to the Trustees that at their joint meeting last week the IASB and FASB agreed to undertake an accelerated project to replace their existing financial instruments standards (IAS 39 Financial Instruments, in the case of the IASB) with a common standard that would address issues arising from the financial crisis in a comprehensive manner. Though the IASB is consulting on FASB amendments related to impairments and fair value measurement, the Trustees supported the IASB’s desire to prioritise the comprehensive project rather than making further piecemeal adjustments.

This is good. They are not being rushed into anything, and they are not following the FASB in giving in to the banks. However it does make it vital that the IASB gets sufficient informed comment on fair value during its consultative process. I would encourage anyone who cares about these issues to visit the IASB page here, download the consultative document, and comment on it.