Financial Reporting Council chair Bill Edge
After more than two decades of conversations held in secret by the Financial Reporting Council (the body that oversees accounting and auditing standard setters) the tradition is set to end following news that the FRC will start meeting in public.
A decision to meet in public was made during the FRC meeting held in September, according to minutes posted in the past week.
The minutes of the September 3 meeting also state that new procedures for the FRC meetings would be drafted and presented for approval at the November meeting of the FRC, which was held on November 5.
Updated procedures are yet to be uploaded to the FRC web site.
The FRC oversees the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. Both those board meet in public, but the FRC was given a leave pass by the Howard government when the legislation creating the body was initially drafted in the late 1990s.
It made its most critical directions such as the one to commit Australia to adopting international accounting standards by 2005 behind closed doors. There was also a contentious public sector accounting direction that was also deliberated on in secret.
The minutes note that the FRC had some discussions late in 2019 about opening meetings to the public but those discussions were deferred for a later date when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
It is also noted in the minutes that members were made aware that FRC procedures were entirely a matter for the FRC.
“Members discussed proposed amendments to the FRC Rules of Procedure and a process for public attendance at FRC meetings and recommended some changes,” the minutes state.
“Members agreed to open FRC meetings to the public, online only, from 1 January 2021 to align processes with the AASB and AUASB. The AASB Chair noted that public attendance had substantially increased at AASB meetings and events since they were held online.”