Governing Bodies & Standing Committees

The members of ASCG can be found here

Article 7  Convening the General Assembly

1. The members shall be invited to attend the Annual General Assembly once a year in Berlin or another major German city. The General Assembly is convened in writing or by email by the Chair or the Deputy Chair of the Administrative Board with three week’s notice, giving the agenda for the General Assembly. Motions to supplement or amend the agenda should be notified to the Chair or Deputy Chair of the Administrative Board with sufficient notice that they can be announced to the members at least one week before the date of the General Assembly.
2. An Extraordinary General Assembly shall be convened if this is dictated by the interests of the Association or required in writing by one-tenth of the members, giving the purpose and reasons. Section (1) above shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Article 8 Chair, Resolutions

1. The General Assembly is chaired by the Chair of the Administrative Board or, if the Chair is prevented from attending, by the Deputy Chair.
2. Each member is entitled to one vote. Proxies may be issued. A member may not represent more than five other members.
3. The General Assembly is quorate if at least 25% of the members are present or represented. If this figure is not reached, the Administrative Board is required to convene a second General Assembly within three weeks; this second General Assembly shall be quorate irrespective of the number of members present or represented; attention shall be drawn to this fact in the invitation.
4. The General Assembly adopts resolutions by a simple majority of the members present or represented. Resolutions to amend the Constitution or to dissolve the Association require a three-quarters majority of the members present.
5. Written minutes of the General Assembly shall be prepared and signed by the Chair of the General Assembly and the keeper of the minutes. The place and time of the General Assembly and the results of any votes shall be minuted.
6. The General Assembly may resolve to supplement the agenda announced with the notice convening the General Assembly.
7. The General Assembly is not public. The Chair of the General Assembly may admit guests

Article 9 Responsibilities

1. The General Assembly is responsible for electing, dismissing and approving the actions of the members of
   • the Administrative Board and
   • the Nomination Committee.
2. The General Assembly is also responsible for determining the amount of the annual fee, the business plan, adopting the annual financial statements and electing the auditor, as well as for all material business management measures.
3. In addition, the General Assembly is responsible for amending and supplementing this Constitution and for dissolving the Association and appropriating its assets (Article 25).

Members of the Administrative Board

Chairman

• Marco Swoboda, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

Deputy Chairman

• Prof Dr Dieter Truxius, ACCOBIS GmbH & Co. KG

Treasurer

• WP Christian Sailer, KPMG

Members

• Anke Dassler, Evonik Industries AG
• WP StB Klaus Eckmann, BDO AG
• Walter Mertl, Siemens AG
• Thomas Messerle, Infineon Technologies AG
• WP/RA/StB Dr Eckhard Ott, German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Confederation (DGRV)
• Andreas Roeper, Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA
• Melanie Sack, IDW Institute of Public Auditors in Germany
• Dr Roman Sauer, Allianz SE
• Dr Jochen Schmitz, Siemens Healthineers AG
• Stefan Schnell, BASF SE
• Andrea M. Schriber, Deutsche Bank AG
• Karolin Schriever, German Savings Banks Association  (DSGV)
• Dr  Christopher Sessar, SAP SE
• Goetz Treber, German Insurance Association (GDV)
• Dr Juergen Wagner, Siemens AG
• Harald Wilhelm, Mercedes-Benz Group AG
• Dr. Hilmar Zettler, The Association of German Banks

§ 10 Members

1. The Administrative Board has 20 members who are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term of office in accordance with section (2) below. The General Assembly may only elect natural persons to the Administrative Board who have already been proposed by the members of the segments (Article 4(1)). The proposals by a segment require a simple majority of the members of that segment.
2. The members of the Administrative Board are elected by segment. The ten persons proposed who receive the most votes in the General Assembly are elected from the persons proposed by Segment A. The same applies to Segments B and D, except
   that in these cases the two persons who receive the most votes in the General Assembly are elected, and to Segments C and E, except that in these cases the three persons who receive the most votes in the General Assembly are elected.
3. The number of members of the Administrative Board and of the persons proposed by the individual segments in accordance with sections (1) and (2) above are based on the Association’s current membership and fee structure. If material changes occur in this structure, sections (1) and (2) above shall be modified to reflect these changes.
4. The members of the Administrative Board act in an honorary capacity.
5. Members of the Administrative Board may only be dismissed for cause by a resolution of the General Assembly adopted by a three-quarters majority of the members present.
6. If a member of the Administrative Board leaves the Administrative Board before the end of their term of office, their voting rights shall accrue to the oldest member belonging to the segment of the former member until a replacement member has been elected. A replacement member shall be elected for the remaining term of office of the former member by the next regular General Assembly in accordance with section (2) above.

§ 11 Responsibilities

1. The Administrative Board defines the principles and guidelines for the work of the Association, and in particular of the Technical Committees and the Executive Committee, taking the general economic interest into account. Corresponding resolutions require a three-quarters majority of its members.
2. The members of the Technical Committees are also elected by a majority of three-quarters of the members of the Administrative Board. The Administrative Board may advise the Technical Committees, but is not entitled to issue instructions to them. The Technical Committees and their members are independent.
3. The Administrative Board appoints, advises and supervises the Executive Committee. It can resolve that the Executive Committee may only conduct certain types of transactions with the approval of the Administrative Board.

§ 12 Internal Organisation

1. The Administrative Board elects from among its members a Chair, a Deputy Chair and a Treasurer.
2. The Administrative Board should hold at least three meetings a year. Meetings can be held physically, by telephone or by using electronic media (e.g. video conferencing) or any combination of these. The meetings are convened, prepared and chaired by the Chair of the Administrative Board or, if the Chair is prevented from attending, by the Deputy Chair. The Administrative Board is quorate if half of its members are present or represented by other members of the Administrative Board. Minutes of the meetings shall be prepared.
3. Resolutions by the Administrative Board require a simple majority of the votes cast by the members present unless stipulated otherwise by law or these Articles of Association. Absent members can participate in resolutions by casting their votes in text form (in writing or by using electronic media, e.g. e-mail or messaging clients).
4. The Federal Ministry of Justice and for Consumer Protection is entitled to attend the meetings of the Administrative Board, but does not have a right to vote.
5. Further details are set out in the Rules of Procedure of the Administrative Board.

Members of  the Nomination Committee

Chairman

• Jonathan Townend, BMW AG

Deputy Chairman

• Santokh Advani, Marquard & Bahls AG

Members

• Prof Dr Alexander Bassen, University Hamburg
• WP/StB Andreas Doerschell, Chamber of Public Accountants
• Prof Dr Rolf Uwe Fuelbier, University Bayreuth
• Prof Dr Joachim Hennrichs, University Cologne
• Gerhard P. Hofmann, The National Association of German Cooperative Banks (BVR)
• Prof Dr Joachim Koelschbach, KPMG AG

Article 13 Members

1. The Nomination Committee comprises seven members who are elected by the General Assembly. It has at least one representative of each segment (Article 4(1)), provided that at least one member is allocated to each segment. The members are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term of office.
2. The members of the Nomination Committee act in an honorary capacity. They are entitled to reimbursement of their out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Members of the Nomination Committee may only be dismissed for cause by a resolution of the General Assembly adopted by a three-quarters majority of the members present.
4. If a member of the Nomination Committee leaves the Nomination Committee before the end of their term of office, their voting rights shall accrue to the oldest member of the Nomination Committee until a replacement member has been elected. A replacement member shall be elected for the remaining term of office of the former member by the next regular General Assembly in accordance with section (1) above.

Article 14 Responsibilities

1. The Nomination Committee submits proposals to the Administrative Board for the election of the members of the Executive Committee and the technical committees.
2. The Nomination Committee’s proposals are binding for the Administrative Board in the sense that only persons proposed by the Nomination Committee may be elected.

Article 15 Internal Organisation

1. The Nomination Committee elects from among its members a Chair and a Deputy Chair. The Chair, and in the event that the Chair is prevented from attending, the Deputy Chair, prepares and chairs the meetings of the Nomination Committee.
2. Resolutions by the Nomination Committee require a simple majority of its members.
3. Further details are set out in the Rules of Procedure adopted by the Nomination Committee with the approval of the General Assembly.

Member of the Executive Committee

• Georg Lanfermann, President of the ASCG
• Prof Dr. Sven Morich, Vice President of ASCG

Article 16 Members

1. The Executive Committee comprises the President. The Administrative Board may also appoint a Vice-President. The members of the Executive Committee are elected by the Administrative Board for three years at the proposal of the Nomination Committee. They may be re-elected.
2. The members of the Executive Committee work for the Association on a full-time basis. They are entitled to appropriate remuneration and to reimbursement of their out-of-pocket expenses. Further details are determined by the Administrative Board.
3. The Members of the Executive Committee may only be dismissed for cause by a resolution of the Administrative Board adopted by a three-quarters majority of its members.
4. At the proposal of the Executive Committee, the Administrative Board may also appoint an Executive Director, who is a special representative in accordance with section 30 of the BGB. An Executive Director shall be appointed if the Executive Committee consists only of the President. The function of the Executive Director is to support the President in managing the business of the Association.

Article 17 Responsibilities

1. The Executive Committee manages the business of the Association. It chairs the technical committees and also chairs the Academic Advisory Board by prior arrangement. It repre-sents the Association and the technical committees and their work externally.
2. The members of the Executive Committee are the legal representatives of the Association in accordance with section 26 of the BGB. They each individually represent the Association in and out of court.
3. The Executive Committee is also responsible for
   • publishing the Association’s annual report;
   •  preparing the business plan (budget); and
   • preparing the annual financial statements.

Article 18 Internal Organisation

1. The members of the Executive Committee work together in an atmosphere of mutual trust and coordinate their activities. They report regularly to the Administrative Board on the course of business and on all material issues relating to the Association.
2. The Executive Committee adopts Rules of Procedure with the approval of the Administrative Board. These Rules of Procedure shall also govern the scope of duties of the Executive Director.

Administration/Assistance

• Cornelia Bahrmann
• Ginger Rodriguez

Technical Directors

• Dr Kati Beiersdorf
• Dr Jan-Velten Grosse
• Dr Thomas Schmotz

Research Director

• Kristina Schwedler

Project managers

• Olga Bultmann
• Dr Ilka Canitz
• Dr Denny Kutter
• Dr. Jan-Robert Kirchner
• Marco Liepe
• Peter Zimniok

Project Assistent

• Erika Bognár

External employee

• Walter Kern

Members of the Financial Reporting Technical Committee

Chairman

• Prof Dr Sven Morich,  Vice President of the ASCG

Members

• Jens Berger, Deloitte GmbH
• Andreas Boedecker, PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH
• Dr Patrick Bosch, Allianz SE
• Gero Bothe, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG
• Dr Marco Ebel, Siemens AG
• Prof Dr Brigitte Eierle, Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg
• Prof Dr Corinna Ewelt-Knauer, Justus-Liebig-University
• Michael Seifert, BayWa AG
• Cedric von Osterroht, EDEKA Minden-Hannover Zentralverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH
• Birgit Weisschuh, Ebner Stolz GmbH & Co KG
• Dr Stefan Wich, Merck KGaA

Article 19 Members

1. The technical committees are each composed of eleven members, who are elected by the Administrative Board for a three- to five-year term of office at the proposal of the Nomination Committee. The election should reflect the duties of the technical committee concerned. Care must be taken to safeguard the interests of preparers, auditors and users of financial reporting. Only persons with particular specialist expertise and experience in the field of accounting and financial reporting may be members of a technical committee.
2.  The members of the technical committees conduct their activities independently in line with the principles and guidelines laid down by the Administrative Board. They are not subject to the instructions of the Administrative Board, the Executive Committee, the General Assembly, or third parties. They may only be dismissed for cause by a resolution of the Administrative Board adopted by a three-quarters majority of its members.
3. The members of the technical committees act in an honorary capacity. They are entitled to reimbursement of their out-of-pocket expenses.
4. The Federal Ministry of Justice and for Consumer Protection is entitled to attend the meetings of the technical committees, but does not have a right to vote.

Article 20 Duties and responsibilities

1. The technical committees are responsible for elaborating
   • accounting standards within the meaning of section 342 of the HGB,
   • interpretations of the international accounting standards within the meaning of section 315e of the HGB,
   • comment letters to national and international bodies on accounting and financial reporting issues,
   • discussion papers, other comment letters and publication
2. The meetings of the technical committees are open to the public.
3. The accounting community shall be involved as described in the following in the elaboration of interpretations and standards in accordance with section (1) a) and b) above (“due process”):
   • exposure of draft interpretations and standards within the meaning of section 315e of the HGB and standards within the meaning of section 342 of the HGB with a call to submit comments within a period of at least 45 days;
   • publication of comments received (unless the author objects to publication);
   • re-exposure of a revised draft in cases where the comments received have resulted in material modification of the draft, coupled with a call to submit new comments within a period of at least 45 days;
   • creation of a public discussion forum (e.g. public meeting or virtual event) on the drafts;
     adoption of interpretations and standards at a meeting open to the public;
   • publication of the adopted interpretations and standards (including dissenting opinions), together with the basis for conclusions.
4. The accounting community shall be invited to submit comments in accordance with section (1) c) above, and shall be included in cases covered by section (1) d) above if this is deemed appropriate by the technical committee.
5.  Pronouncements issued by the technical committees in accordance with section (1) above shall require a prior resolution adopted by a two-thirds majority of the members of the technical committee concerned. For pronouncements of the joint technical committee in accordance with Article 22a, the two-thirds majority requirement in accordance with sentence 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
6. The technical committees shall notify each other regularly about their work and shall coordinate their activities.

§ 21 Financial Reporting Technical Committee

The Financial Reporting Technical Committee is specifically responsible for

• developing and issuing German Accounting Standards within the meaning of section 342 of the HGB in the field of financial reporting;
• developing and issuing interpretations of the international accounting standards within the meaning of section 315e(1) of the HGB;
• elaborating comment letters on exposure drafts issued by the IASB and other bodies of the IFRS Foundation;
• cooperating with, and developing responses to consultation documents issued by, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), the European financial regulators and supervisors, and the European Commission in the field of financial reporting;
• providing advice on planned legislation and on the implementation of European directives; and
•  comment letters on European directives.

Article 22a Joint Technical Committee

The Joint Technical Committee consists of the members of both technical committees. Taking into account the responsibilities of each technical committee as specified in Articles 21 and 22, the Joint Technical Committee is responsible for

• developing and issuing German Accounting Standards within the meaning of section 342 of the HGB;
• cooperating with, and developing responses to consultation documents issued by, international standard-setting bodies;
• cooperating with, and developing responses to consultation documents issued by, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), the European financial regulators and supervisors, and the European Commission;
• providing advice on planned legislation and on the implementation of European directives; and
• comment letters on European directives,

insofar as reporting issues apply equally to and are relevant for both technical committees. With reference to the promulgation of German Accounting Standards in accordance with Articles 21 and 22, the individual technical committees shall, at the proposal of the Executive Committee, submit these to the Joint Technical Committee for assessment to ensure that the reporting integrates financial reporting and sustainability reporting issues.

Members of the Sustainability Reporting Technical Committee

Chairman

• Georg Lanfermann,  President of the ASCG

Members

• Nicolette Behncke, PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH
• Carsten Beisheim, GvW Graf von Westphalen Rechtsanwaelte Steuerberater Partnerschaft mbB
• Martin Bolten, NRW.BANK
• Tanja Castor, BASF SE
• Dr Oliver Emons, Hans-Boeckler-Stiftung
• Prof Dr Christian Fink, University of Applied Sciences Wiesbaden Business School
• Prof Dr Kerstin Lopatta, University Hamburg
• Dr Rupini Deepa Rajagopalan, Berenberg Wealth & Asset Management
• Noura Rhemouga, Hochwald Foods GmbH
• Dr Lothar Rieth, EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG
• Dr Werner Rockel, Munich RE

Article 19 Members

1.  The technical committees are each composed of eleven members, who are elected by the Administrative Board for a three- to five-year term of office at the proposal of the Nomination Committee. The election should reflect the duties of the technical committee concerned. Care must be taken to safeguard the interests of preparers, auditors and users of financial reporting. Only persons with particular specialist expertise and experience in the field of accounting and financial reporting may be members of a technical committee.
2. The members of the technical committees conduct their activities independently in line with the principles and guidelines laid down by the Administrative Board. They are not subject to the instructions of the Administrative Board, the Executive Committee, the General Assembly, or third parties. They may only be dismissed for cause by a resolution of the Administrative Board adopted by a three-quarters majority of its members.
3. The members of the technical committees act in an honorary capacity. They are entitled to reimbursement of their out-of-pocket expenses.
4. The Federal Ministry of Justice and for Consumer Protection is entitled to attend the meetings of the technical committees, but does not have a right to vote.

Article 20 Duties and responsibilities

1.  The technical committees are responsible for elaborating

• accounting standards within the meaning of section 342 of the HGB,
• interpretations of the international accounting standards within the meaning of section 315e of the HGB,
•  comment letters to national and international bodies on accounting and financial reporting issues,
•  discussion papers, other comment letters and publications

1. The meetings of the technical committees are open to the public.
2. The accounting community shall be involved as described in the following in the elaboration of interpretations and standards in accordance with section (1) a) and b) above (“due process”):
3. The accounting community shall be invited to submit comments in accordance with section (1) c) above, and shall be included in cases covered by section (1) d) above if this is deemed appropriate by the technical committee.

• exposure of draft interpretations and standards within the meaning of section 315e of the HGB and standards within the meaning of section 342 of the HGB with a call to submit comments within a period of at least 45 days;
• publication of comments received (unless the author objects to publication);
• re-exposure of a revised draft in cases where the comments received have resulted in material modification of the draft, coupled with a call to submit new comments within a period of at least 45 days;
• creation of a public discussion forum (e.g. public meeting or virtual event) on the drafts;
• adoption of interpretations and standards at a meeting open to the public;
• publication of the adopted interpretations and standards (including dissenting opinions), together with the basis for conclusions.

1. Pronouncements issued by the technical committees in accordance with section (1) above shall require a prior resolution adopted by a two-thirds majority of the members of the technical committee concerned. For pronouncements of the joint technical committee in accordance with Article 22a, the two-thirds majority requirement in accordance with sentence 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
2. The technical committees shall notify each other regularly about their work and shall coordinate their activities.

Article 22 Sustainability Reporting Technical Committee

The Sustainability Reporting Technical Committee is specifically responsible for

a) developing and issuing German Accounting Standards within the meaning of section 342 of the HGB in the field of non-financial reporting;

b) cooperating with, and developing responses to consultation documents issued by, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), the European financial regulators and supervisors, and the European Commission in the field of sustainability reporting;

c) providing advice on planned legislation and on the implementation of European directives; and

d) comment letters on European directives.

Article 22a Joint Technical Committee

The Joint Technical Committee consists of the members of both technical committees. Taking into account the responsibilities of each technical committee as specified in Articles 21 and 22, the Joint Technical Committee is responsible for

a) developing and issuing German Accounting Standards within the meaning of section 342 of the HGB;

b) cooperating with, and developing responses to consultation documents issued by, international standard-setting bodies;

c) cooperating with, and developing responses to consultation documents issued by, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), the European financial regulators and supervisors, and the European Commission;

d) providing advice on planned legislation and on the implementation of European directives; and

e) comment letters on European directives,

insofar as reporting issues apply equally to and are relevant for both technical committees. With reference to the promulgation of German Accounting Standards in accordance with Articles 21 and 22, the individual technical committees shall, at the proposal of the Executive Committee, submit these to the Joint Technical Committee for assessment to ensure that the reporting integrates financial reporting and sustainability reporting issues.

The working Groups of the ASCG can be found here