ASCG President appointed Vice President of EFRAG Board

At its meeting yesterday, the General Assembly of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) formally appointed Andreas Barckow, President of the Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (ASCG), as Vice President of the EFRAG Board by unanimous vote.

The main tasks of the Vice President are to chair the technical and public sessions of the monthly Board meetings and to step in for the President in his absence.

The EFRAG reform, which had been initiated by the former Belgian Prime Minister Philippe Maystadt, was formally concluded with the appointment of Jean-Paul Gauzes as EFRAG Board President on 1 July 2016. The Frenchman, a former member of the European Parliament and intimate expert in European affairs, did express his wish to have a technical and experienced colleague from the Board at his side. After having conducted interviews with all Board members his choice fell on the German, a choice echoed and supported by the entire Board.

Following the official appointment, Dr Barckow, who had already been carrying out the task as acting Vice President since October, said: “I wish to thank all members of the General Assembly for the trust they have put in me and accept the appointment with great gratitude. With the pending endorsement decisions on IFRSs 16 (on Leases) and 17 (Insurance Contracts) there are huge challenges ahead of us. I am grateful to being able to support Jean-Paul and Andrew [Watchman, TEG Chair] with his team in carrying out this demanding task.