Johannesburg, Thursday, 4 February 2010 - Tributes have been pouring into the offices of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) following the announcement of the retirement of South Africa’s Bob Garnett as member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and of chairman of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC).
Garnett will retire from the IASB and the IFRIC at the end of June 2010 after 10 years of dedicated service.
Sue Ludolph, SAICA's project director for accounting, has worked with Garnett since 2002. She has been “awed”, not merely by his accounting technical knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) but also by his practical insights of their impact on businesses across the globe and in various industries.
“His commitment to the IASB and its vision of having one set of global accounting standards has driven him to all ends of the earth to listen and respond to needs of stakeholders.”
Ludolph characterises his achievements for South Africa in the eyes of the world as “astonishing”, given that he has positioned the country as a leader in IFRS and its implementation.
“He has afforded us the opportunity of having South African concerns heard and responded to in IFRS. He has given of his personal time to attend South Africa's Accounting Practices Committee (APC) and Accounting Practices Board (APB) meetings to advise and guide them.
“In addition, he has met with many CEOs, CFOs and their staff in house to provide the IASB insight and perspective on financial reporting.
“He has hosted and presented many SAICA events in order to prompt the business community to make a difference by providing their views. He is highly respected by business leaders here and abroad and we thank him for his financial reporting passion.”
But while South Africa might have lost one of its people from the IASB, SAICA welcomes Garnett’s replacement by another South African, Darrel Scott, CFO of FirstRand Banking Group, who will take office from October 2010.
Scott has been a regular contributor to the South African standard-setting process since 2002, when he was appointed the Banking Association’s alternate member on the APB in South Africa.
He served on the APB when it arrived at the crucial decision that South Africa would issue IFRS as Statements of GAAP and so pave the way for South Africa to enter the global financial world and attract more foreign investment. He was also on the APB when it agreed to issue the IASB’s IFRS for SMEs for use in South Africa.
In 2005, Scott joined the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation’s Standards Advisory Committee, since when, says Ludolph, he has played a pivotal role in providing the preparer perspective on implementation issues with IFRS and proposed standards. Scott was then appointed to the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) in July 2007, further enhancing his contribution.
Scott represented SAICA on one of the South African Reserve Bank’s Basel II Implementation Forums and has aired the South African banks’ viewpoint at London roundtable discussions on the restriction of the fair value proposals.
Ludolph congratulated him on his new appointment. “Yet another CA(SA) will be contributing to practical financial reporting under one set of global financial reporting standards.”
Gerrit Zalm, Chairman of the Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, yesterday thanked Garnett for his dedication to the global accounting profession over the past 10 years. “He should feel proud of the contributions he has made to the development of IFRSs.”
Sir David Tweedie, Chairman of the IASB, said he was delighted that Scott would be joining the Board.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Thando Pato
Communications Coordinator: Corporate
The SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA)
Tel: 011 621 6898
Email: thandop@saica.co.za
Charlene Hawkes, Anusha Mudhai, or John Spira
Meropa Communications
Tel: 011 506 7300
Email: charlene@meropa, anushm@meropa.co.za or
johns@meropa.co.za
ABOUT SAICA:
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes. The Institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 29 000 members who are Chartered Accountants and hold positions as CEOs, MDs, board directors, business owners, chief financial officers, auditors and business leaders in their spheres of business operation. Most of these members operate in commerce and industry, and play a significant role in the nation’s highly dynamic business sector and economic development.
SAICA serves the interests not only of the Chartered Accountancy profession, but also of society in general through its key objective of upholding professional standards and integrity. The pre-eminence of South African Chartered Accountants [CAs(SA)] nationally and internationally attests to the successes achieved by SAICA on a broad global canvas. SAICA’s members enjoy the privilege of using the highly regarded and prestigious CA(SA) designation.
SAICA members serve on international accounting bodies including; the Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) and the Council of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). SAICA is also a member of The Global Accounting Alliance (GAA).
Source: SAICA
