IASB appoints new chair

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has confirmed the appointment of Professor Dr Andreas Barckow as its new chair, the trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced. His role is effective from July 2021, and he will succeed Hans Hoogervorst, who completes his second five-year term in June 2021. Dr Barckow is an “experienced and highly regarded leader” in the field of international accounting. He has served as president of the Accounting Standards Committee of Germany since 2015, and his work across both international and European levels has “helped shape the development and future direction of IFRS Standards around the world”. Dr Barckow has also been involved in numerous advisory bodies to the IFRS Foundation and the IASB, including membership of the IASB’s Accounting Standards Advisory Forum and the IFRS Advisory Council. The IASB describes him as an “acknowledged expert” in IFRS Standards, having previously served as the lead technical partner for financial reporting matters in the German Deloitte firm. It said his appointment follows an “extensive” international search process. Nominations for the role were considered from around 500 stakeholder organisations, with more than 200 candidates from 29 countries narrowed for the position, before compiling a reduced list of 63 possible candidates from 21 countries. Erkki Liikanen, chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, said: “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Andreas Barckow as IASB Chair. His skills and experience will be invaluable to the IASB as it begins the next stage in its evolution as a global accounting standard-setter. “The trustees would like to express our profound thanks to Hans Hoogervorst, who during his tenure has provided such strong leadership to the IASB and overseen the delivery and worldwide adoption of major enhancements to IFRS Standards.” Dr Barckow said: “I am deeply honoured to be appointed as the next IASB chair, to lead the standard-setter into its third decade. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Board and the staff to meet the exciting challenges ahead.”