Chartered Accountants ANZ (CA ANZ) has welcomed the release of a Treasury consultation paper on merging the nation's three financial reporting bodies.
The three bodies that oversee financial reporting and set reporting, audit and assurance standards – the Australian Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and the Financial Reporting Council – will be merged into one entity by July 2026.
CA ANZ Assurance and Reporting Leader Amir Ghandar FCA thanked the Government for engaging with the sector given the initial announcement from the Treasurer in November 2023 was met with some surprise and calls for greater consultation by the profession.
"We have been engaging with the Government on this change since it was first announced by the Treasurer in 2023," Mr Ghandar said.
"CA ANZ supports the overall objective of a more flexible arrangement for standards setting to deal with evolving market needs.
"However, a 30-day consultation period is not long enough to provide feedback on the most significant shake-up to the Australian standards setting bodies in decades.
"We are pleased to see some of our initial feedback has been taken into consideration, including preserving key strengths of the existing model and making sure there remains a high level and variety of skills within our oversight body.
"There are also aspects that will need further refinement to maintain confidence, such as clarifying the demarcation between oversight and standard setting activities, striking a balance between independence and current practical expertise, as well as clarity on how this fits and interacts with other ongoing Treasury consultation processes involving the profession."
Mr Ghandar said CA ANZ will provide more detailed feedback through the consultation period which reflects the key concerns from CA ANZ members.
