Applying International Financial Reporting Standards

Keith Alfredson, BCom(Hons), AAUQ, FAICD, FCA, FCPA, is a graduate of the University of Queensland. On graduation in 1963 he joined Arthur Andersen, becoming a partner in 1974 and retiring in 1997. He specialised in the audit of large publicly listed and privately owned entities in addition to acting as an expert on technical accounting issues. He was Arthur Andersen's representative on the Australian Urgent Issues Group. In 1998, he became a Senior Fellow in the Department of Accounting and Business Information Systems of The University of Melbourne. In May 2000, he was appointed the first full-time chairman of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, a position he held until May 2003. During that period he also acted as chairman of the Urgent Issues Group. Ken Leo, BCom (Hons), MBA (Qld), AAUQ, FCPA, is Professor of Accounting at Curtin University of Technology, Western Australia. During his 40 years as an academic, he has taught company accounting to undergraduate and postgraduate students. He has been involved in writing books published by John Wiley since 1981, and has also written books and monographs for other organisations including CPA Australia, Group of 100 and the Australian Accounting Research Foundation. As a founding member of the Urgent Issues Group in 1995, he served on this body until 2001. He subsequently served on the AASB from 2002 to 2007, including being deputy chairman of the AASB for some of that time. Ruth Picker, BA, FCA, FSIA, FCPA, is Global Director, Global IFRS Services with Ernst & Young. Ruth has had 25 years' experience with Ernst & Young and held various leadership roles during this time. Up until June 2009, Ruth was Managing Partner - Melbourne and the Oceania Team Leader of Climate Change and Sustainability Services. Prior to this role Ruth was a senior partner in the Technical Consulting Group, Global IFRS and the fi rm's Professional Practice Director (PPD) responsible for directing the fi rm's accounting and auditing policies with the ultimate authority on accounting and auditing issues. She is a member of Ernst & Young's global International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Policy Committee. Ruth's authoritative insight and understanding of accounting policy and regulation was acknowledged through her appointment to the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC), the official interpretative arm of the International Accounting Standards Board. She is currently a member of the IFRIC and the only Australian on that body. Ruth was responsible for the preparation of Ernst & Young's Corporate Governance Series (which includes guidance for directors and results of numerous corporate governance surveys) and subsequent advice to a number of entities in both the private and public sectors on the application of corporate governance. Ruth has conducted numerous 'Directors' Schools' for listed company boards. These schools were designed by Ruth and are aimed at enhancing the fi nancial literacy of listed company board members. She is a frequent speaker and author on accounting issues and has been actively involved in the Australian accounting standard-setting process, being a past member and former deputy chair of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and having served on the Urgent Issues Group for 3 years. She has been a long-standing lecturer and Task Force member for the Securities Institute of Australia, serving that organisation for 17 years. Her written articles have been published in a number of publications, and she is frequently quoted in the media on accounting and governance issues. In November 2000, Ruth was awarded the inaugural 'Lynne Sutherland Award' - an Ernst & Young award created to recognise those people at Ernst & Young who contribute to the development and retention of women and who support and enhance the ability of Ernst & Young to attract and retain talented people. Janice Loftus, BBus, MCom (Hons), is a senior lecturer in accounting at The University of Sydney. Her teaching interests are in the area of fi nancial accounting and she has written several study guides for distance learning programs. Janice's research interests are in the area of fi nancial reporting. She co-authored Accounting Theory Monograph 11 on solvency and cash condition with Professor M. C. Miller. She has numerous publications on international fi nancial reporting standards, risk reporting, solvency, earnings management, social and environmental reporting, and developments in standard setting in Australian and international journals. Janice co-authored Accounting: Building Business Skills published by John Wiley & Sons. She is the editor of Financial Reporting, Regulation and Governance. Prior to embarking on an academic career, Janice held several senior accounting positions in Australian and multi-national corporations. Kerry Clark, BCom, CA, Executive Director - Technical Consulting Group, Global IFRS, has had 17 years' experience with Ernst & Young and is currently on secondment to the Ernst & Young Calgary offi ce in Canada assisting many of Canada's largest oil and gas companies in their conversion to IFRSs. Prior to this she was a key member of the Technical Consulting Group, Global IFRS in the Ernst & Young Melbourne offi ce in Australia where she was responsible for advising clients on the application of IFRSs to complex transactions. Kerry has been involved in the authoring of many Ernst & Young publications and Charter magazine articles and assisted Ruth Picker in conducting 'Directors' Schools' for listed company boards. She has also spoken on accounting issues in many different forums. Victoria Wise, BCom, MEcon, PhD, FCPA, FPNA, is a Professor in the School of Accounting and Corporate Governance at the University of Tasmania, Hobart. During her 20 years as an academic she has taught fi nancial accounting and auditing to undergraduate, honours and postgraduate students. Victoria has more than 130 publications including books and book chapters, refereed and professional journal articles and conference proceedings. Her journal articles focus on International Financial Reporting Standards, corporate governance and regulatory issues, and public sector and small business fi nancial reporting. Her current research interests include corporate regulation and governance.