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SEC chief accountant bows out

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20th May 2014
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The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced last week that chief accountant Paul A Beswick will be leaving the regulator to return to the private sector. 

Beswick joined the SEC in 2007 as an advisor to the chief accountant and after stints as deputy and acting chief accountant he took over the top job in 2012. 

Previously a partner with Ernst & Young and a partnership fellow at the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Beswick will stay with the SEC for a transitional period to ensure a smooth handover.

The SEC chief accountant is a crucial position, as the incumbent can largely determine the progress of harmonisation between international accounting standards and US GAAP. Under Barak Obama, the SEC has been dragging its feet on IFRS for the past few years, but Beswick did lead the regulator’s internal commission that devised the “condorsement” concept in 2012 under which FASB would continue to review and adjust IFRS for use by US companies, in much the same way as Europe’s technical endorsement mechanism.

Last year Beswick said the SEC’s decision on IFRS may be the “single most important accounting determination” since the SEC turned to the private sector for help devising accounting standards in the 1930s. He urged accountants to “stay tuned” for the big decision - but it looks like it won’t be happening under his watch. Those with an interest in harmonisation will be watching to see if his successor is likely to be more energetic on that front.

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