IFRS Foundation opens regional Asia-Oceania office
15 Nov 2012
The IFRS Foundation has officially opened an office in Tokyo for enhanced liaison in the Asia-Oceania region - it is the first regional office of the IASB. The opening of the office reflects the commitment of the IFRS Foundation to become a truly international accounting standard-setter and is intended to support greater regional outreach and participation in the IASB’s standard-setting activities.
The IFRS Foundation announced the establishment of the Tokyo office in February 2011 in order to expand opportunities for direct contact between the IFRS Foundation and its stakeholders in the region. An Office Director was appointed in September 2012.
The reasons for locating the first international office the Asia-Oceania region were many as Michel Prada, the Chairman of the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, pointed out in his opening remarks: "The Asia-Oceania region is home to some of the largest capital markets and fastest growing economies in the world" and there is "a great deal of support for IFRS across the entire region". However, the region is also diverse, so it is hoped that the opening of a local presence will "ensure that views across the region are heard and considered as part of the standard-setting process".
Mr Prada also pointed out that the office will provide an interface with the Asia-Oceania Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG), the platform of regional national standard-setters for discussing problems and sharing experiences in the convergence process, for participating in the development of IFRSs, and for making contributions to a single set of high quality global accounting standards. Mr Prada commended the AOSSG for its work and expressed the hope that it would become a member of the new Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) the IASB has undertaken to set up.
Please click for the press release on th IASB's website which also offers access to the transcript of Mr. Prada's openings remarks and a transcript of the opening remarks spoken by Hans Hoogervorst, the IASB Chairman, as well as more information on the Asia-Oceania office in English, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, and Korean.