Chatter, phone calls and raised eyebrows greeted the announcement of the appointment of the new chairman of the Australian Accounting Standards Board two weeks ago.
The announcement, which was made in the midst of the community’s intense focus on the coronavirus pandemic and debates about reopening the economy, materialised quietly.
Mainstream media outlets possibly overwhelmed by the current disruption to work patterns failed to report the significant appointment and the historic nature of the appointment.
However, the appointment of tax expert Dr Keith Kendall was noticed by people with a long-term interest in the setting of accounting standards domestically and internationally.
The absence of any biography in the government’s initial media release on Kendall’s appointment was also remarked upon. It led to information being shared amongst contacts after searches were conducted online and conversations had either on the phone or via social media sites such as LinkedIn.
This meant a lot of unnecessary conversations and sharing of information went on related to the appointment, the experience of the new chairman in various phases of his career.
It is disgraceful in the first instance that a senior appointment, which involves a high level of liaison with domestic and international stakeholders, was not accompanied by a media release with a biographical summary from the minister’s office in the first instance so that the community could be told about the breadth of experiences the new chairman brings to the role.
People inquiring into his background would walk away thinking that he would only bring tax expertise to the table given that a large portion of his career was spent in taxation.
This is all the Federal Government supplied to the Australian public of note about the new chairman when it announced the appointment: his name and the length of appointment. It described the AASB and the Financial Reporting Council, but Sweet Fanny Adams about the actual background of the chairman they had just announced.
Even if the biography that was supplied as a part of the application process was confidential, there is sufficient material online that would give people given adequate lead time to craft a more informative introduction rather than the four lines of useless bureaucratic drivel that made the media release look like an afterthought rather than one announcing an appointment to a position that has global significance for this country.
A useful disclosure that would have added to people’s understanding is Kendall’s extensive publishing record across various journals on tax matters.
This is a clear indication that he is someone that has a capacity to analyse complex business structures and look at how laws apply to certain transactions.
Papers delivered to the Samuel Griffiths Society in 2012 and 2013 are an interesting read on matters of tax administration and federal and state relations. They point to a deep and abiding interest in not just how the law is applied today but also a life-long commitment to developing expertise.
Nowhere was it noted in official communication from the Minister’s office that the new chairman has had involvement in the not-for-profit sector. Kendall was the