Australia's Department of the Treasury published a consultation paper on the design of new institutional arrangements for setting accounting, sustainability reporting, and auditing and assurance standards, proposing to combine the Australian Accounting Standards Board, Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and Financial Reporting Council into a single statutory body. The paper seeks feedback on the proposed governance and operating model to support a more flexible standard-setting framework, while noting the proposals are not yet approved by Government and are not law. Under the proposal, the new body would assume the current standard-setting and advice functions across accounting, sustainability and audit and assurance, along with broader roles such as consultation mechanisms, international engagement, and strategic advice to the responsible Minister including on audit quality reporting. A government-appointed Board would be the accountable authority and would delegate technical standard-setting to committees, expected initially to include dedicated committees for accounting, sustainability reporting and auditing and assurance with power to make and formulate standards; the Board could establish further committees and would be able to redeploy resources across functions. The new body would be supported by an in-house Chief Executive Officer and staff, ending the current arrangement where the Financial Reporting Council relies on a Treasury secretariat, and would introduce enhanced governance mechanisms including expanded conflict-of-interest disclosures and termination provisions for Board members. Submissions are due by 21 February 2025, with further public consultation planned on exposure draft legislation and transitional arrangements.
Department of Treasury (Australia) 2025-01-23
Australia's Department of the Treasury consults on merging the AASB, AUASB and Financial Reporting Council into a single standard-setting body
Australia's Department of the Treasury proposed merging the Australian Accounting Standards Board, Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and Financial Reporting Council into a single statutory body. This entity would oversee accounting, sustainability, and auditing standards, with a government-appointed Board delegating tasks to specialized committees. The proposal includes enhanced governance measures and seeks feedback, though it is not yet government-approved or law.