Experts to discuss tax policy and accounting standards

7 March 2013

Crunching numbers—experts to discuss tax policy and accounting standards

Two experts are visiting Victoria University next week to discuss topical issues in international tax policy, and a monumental change in financial reporting.

International tax reviews and New Zealand's Tax Working Group: what can we learn?

Date: Tuesday 12 March 2013
Time: 5.30 pm
Venue: Rutherford House, Lecture Theatre 2
RSVP to cherry.change@vuw.ac.nz

This lecture will examine the implications for tax policy in New Zealand in the light of the UK Mirrlees Review, the Australian Henry Review, and New Zealand's Tax Working Group.

The lecture will be delivered by Professor Alan Auerbach, the Robert D. Burch Professor of Economics and Law, Director of the Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance, and former Chair of the Economics Department at the University of California, Berkeley.

Professor Auerbach is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and previously taught at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, where he also served as Economics Department Chair. Professor Auerbach was Deputy Chief of Staff of the US Joint Committee on Taxation in 1992 and has been a consultant to several government agencies and institutions in the United States and abroad.

My time at the IASB and challenges for the future—a conversation with Warren McGregor

Date: Thursday 14 March 2013
Time: 4.30 pm
Venue: Rutherford House, Lecture Theatre 2
RSVP: vanessa.borg@vuw.ac.nz by Monday 11 March.

Warren McGregor was an inaugural member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). During his time on the Board, which spanned 10 years and finished with him holding the position of Acting Vice Chairman, he directly participated in perhaps the most momentous change in financial reporting the world has seen. He will share his personal experiences of the IASB's journey, which he describes as often tumultuous.

The Board was established initially as a type of accounting ‘think tank’ with a mandate to develop high-quality accounting standards that could be adopted on a voluntary basis by countries around the world. However, it soon gained an international constituency that thrust it into the hurly burly of international accounting standard setting. Before it knew it, the Board was faced with not only resolving challenging technical issues but also dealing with the politics and other pressures that accompany attempts to change accounting practices in highly controversial areas.

Professor McGregor will discuss some of the critical events that took place during this period, including the impact of some of the events on the people directly involved. He will also examine some of the challenges now facing the Board including bringing the US, Japan, and India into the IFRS family.

Both lectures are free to attend.

ENDS

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