The International Accounting Standards Board, which is chaired by Sir David Tweedle, has come under scrutiny for bowing to political pressure from the European Union. The issue at hand is the method banks use to value their assets on the financial statements. Political interference in the accounting and financial sectors are nothing new in the US or abroad, but one of the key components of the IASB is supposed to be its ability to resist such political pressure.
Sir David, defended the boards decision even though his stated that it nearly led to his resignation. I am a big fan of the movement to International Accounting Standards, but I forsee such political pressure being a much larger issue then either the Securities Exchange Commission or the IASB has let on so far.
Here is the full story by Glenn Kessler courtesy of the Washington Post.