Warren McGregor, IASB Board member for the first ten years of the IASB's existence, describes how the IASB evolved from "a type of accounting 'think tank' with a mandate to develop high-quality accounting standards that could be adopted on a voluntary basis by countries around the world" into a body that had to learn to deal "with the politics and other pressures that accompany attempts to change accounting practices in highly controversial areas".

• Personal Reflections on Ten Years of the IASB
  

Kevin M. Stevenson, AASB Chairman and former member of the IASB staff, analyses the changing relationship between the AASB and other national standard setters and the IASB. He critically looks at the attempts that are made to establish more formal links with domestic and regional groupings of standard setters as evidenced by the IFRS Foundation's proposals for the creation of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) published on 1. November 2012.

• The Changing IASB and AASB Relationship

Mr Stevensons article is balanced with a contribution by Jessica Lion, an IASB staff member, presents the IASB's perspective in the debate around the relationship between the IASB and the national standard setters. In her article she looks at the benefits and challenges of a "complex but vital relationship to both the global and the domestic standard setter" and how the benefits can be maximised.

• How the IASB Interacts with Domestic Standard Setters – A Network of Standard Setters

Paul Pacter, IASB Board member, regrets that "[i]n 2011, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) was so engrossed in progressing some major projects toward completion, along with a change of board leadership, that an important milestone passed by without much celebration – our 10th anniversary". His contribution lists and honours the IASB's achievements over the past 10 years.

• Stop and Smell the Roses

The forum concludes with two papers focusing on the role of the US in developing global standards over the last 10 years. Holger Erchinger outlines recent developments at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in relation to the possible adoption of IFRS and shows how the SEC's 2010 IFRS Work Plan led via the SEC staff paper exploring the 'condorsement' approach for IFRS adoption in the US to the SEC final staff report published in July 2012.

• IFRS in the United States – Developments and Current Status
  

Donna L. Street complements Mr Erchinger's paper by delving more deeply into forces shaping US decisions about IFRS and the implications of possible adoption models. Her strong conclusion is that "[t]he SEC leadership has repeatedly voiced support for one set of globally accepted accounting standards. Since the rest of the world will not adopt US GAAP, IFRS is realistically the only visible road to global standards".

• IFRS in the United States: If, When and How