Brussels, 19/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has set up a committee for examining accounting standards to ensure there is objectivity and a fair balance in the views given by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), a private body. The committee will be composed of independent experts and senior representatives of national accounting standards bodies whose experience and competence in accounting matters is widely recognised. Its task will consist in assessing whether the opinions given by EFRAG for the adoption of standards are balanced and objective. In principle, it will make its views known within three weeks, and its definitive opinion will be made public on the Commission's website. According to Charlie McCreevy, Internal Market Commissioner, its independent opinion on EFRAG's recommendations will be an additional guarantee of the quality of accounting standards adopted by the Union.
We recall that, under the regulation on International Accounting Standards (IAS) adopted in July 2002, all European Union companies quoted on a regulated market (the stock exchange, for example) must establish their consolidated accounts in line with a single series of international standards called International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The regulation provides for the creation of a technical accounting committee that will provide assistance and put its competence to the service of the Commission for assessing IFRS standards before they are adopted by the European Union. (The call for applicants to become members of the committee will soon be published on the internet site: http: //ec.europa.eu/internal_market/accounting/index_en.htm).