FAQ

The Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (ASCG) is the national standard setter in the area of group financial reporting in Germany. The organisation was established on 15 March 1998 as an independent and registered not-for-profit association by German Industry and is domiciled in Berlin. The ASCG had been formally acknowledged by the Ministry of Justice (now the Ministry of Justice and for Consumer Protection) as the private standardisation organisation pursuant sec. 342 of the German Commercial Code. Formal acknowledgement took place by means of a Standardisation Agreement on 3 September 1998. Following a temporary suspension in 2010, this agreement had been renewed on 2 December 2011.

The association was founded with the objectives of:

• promoting the further development of financial reporting in the public interest by bringing together those that show an interest in the technical world of financial reporting, particularly accountants;
• being recognised by the Federal Government as the German Standard Setter, supported in its goals and heard as a competent advisor, without compromising the sovereignty of the legislator and the courts; and
• representing the views of German Industry in the area of financial reporting internationally.

On the basis of these three overarching objectives six tasks have been formulated for the ASCG, which are codified in paragraph 2 section 1 of its Constitution. Accordingly, the ASCG shall, in the public interest:

1. Develop recommendations for the application of GAAP in the area of group financial reporting;
2. Advise the Government on legislative affairs domestically and at the EU level in the area of financial reporting;
3. Represent the Federal Republic of Germany in international fora concerned with financial reporting;
4. Develop interpretations on International Financial Reporting Standards pursuant sec 315a (1) of the Commercial Code;
5. Raise the quality of financial reporting generally; and
6. Promote research and education in the aforementioned fields.

The first four areas mentioned above are a direct consequence of the ASCG’s legal mandate pursuant sec 342 of the Commercial Code and the Standardisation Agreement. The latter also mentions raising the quality of financial reporting generally as another area for the ASCG.

The ASCG also decides to address topics for which there are gaps or a need for change in national and international financial accounting and reporting. In addition the ASCG’s agenda includes advisory projects for the Federal Ministry of Justice.

The Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (ASCG-DRSC) is a registered not-for-profit association domiciled in Berlin. Its governing bodies are the General Assembly, the Administrative Board, the Nomination Committee, and the Executive Committee. Its technical bodies are the Financial Reporting Technical Committee and the Sustainability Reporting Technical Committee.

The Executive Committee represents the organisation pursuant para. 26 of the Civil Law.
You can find further information about the structure on this page

Die two standing committees (the Financial Technical Committee and the Sustainability Reporting Technical Committee) are comprised of seven voting members who are suggested by the Nomination Committee and are appointed by the Administrative Board for a term of three to five years. Members can be reappointment; however, the total term of any member should not exceed ten years.

1. interpretations of the international accounting standards pursuant section 315a of the Commercial Code;
2. accounting standards pursuant section 342 of the Commercial Code;
3. comment letters to national and international bodies on accounting and financial reporting issues; and
4. discussion papers, other comment letters and publications.

A list of the current members of the Financial Reporting Technical Committee as well as its responsibilities are available here.

A list of the current members of the Sustainability Reporting Technical Committee as well as its responsibilities are available here.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is a private independent standard setter headquartered in London, UK. The IASB was established in 2001 in order to develop a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly articulated principles.

You can find more information about the IASB in this brochure.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is the independent standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation (IFRSF). The IFRS Foundation is an independent, privately organised, not-for-profit organisation, operating to serve the public interest. The governance and due process are designed to keep the standard-setting independent from special interests while ensuring accountability to the organisation’s stakeholders around the world.

You will find further information on the structure and role of the various elements of the IFRS Foundation, its standard-setting body the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB),  the Board’s formal advisory body, the IFRS Advisory Council, and the independent Monitoring Board here.

The ASCG has been an inaugural member of the IASB’s Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF), which was established in 2012.

The objective of the ASAF is to provide an advisory forum where members can constructively contribute towards the achievement of the IASB’s goal of developing globally accepted high-quality accounting standards. More particularly, the ASAF is established to:

• support the IFRS Foundation in its objectives, and contribute towards the development, in the public interest, of a single set of high quality understandable, enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting standards to serve investors and other market participants in making informed resource allocations and other economic decisions;
• formalise and streamline the IASB’s collective engagement with the global community of national standard-setters and regional bodies in its standard setting process to ensure that a broad range of national and regional input on major technical issues related to the IASB’s standard setting activities are discussed and considered; and
• facilitate effective technical discussions on standard-setting issues, primarily on the IASB’s work plan, but which may include other issues that have major implications for the IASB’s work, in sufficient depth, with representatives at a high level of professional capability and with a good knowledge of their jurisdictions/regions.

The ASAF generally meets four times a year for two days, normally in London.

You will find further information about the terms of reference, the composition of ASAF as well as ASAF meeting on this page.