At the meeting this month, the Monitoring Board urged the IFRS Foundation Trustees to ensure that the quality of accounting standards being developed as part of the IASB and FASB’s convergence project is not compromised by unnecessary time pressure.

The IASB is currently looking to finalise its convergence projects by June this year. However, Monitoring Board member, EU Commissioner Michel Barnier made it clear that the IASB should instead make use of the deadline for convergence projects set by the G-20, which is the end of 2011. This would give the IASB sufficient time to conduct much-needed consultation on revised proposals for accounting for leases before issuing a final leases standard.

Leaseurope’s director general, Tanguy van de Werve, said: 'The European leasing industry has repeatedly called for the IASB to conduct an effects analysis of its proposals for a new lease accounting standard. Commissioner Barnier’s message is crystal clear: if the IASB needs more time to carry out such work, it must take it. Together with additional consultation, this is the only way to achieve the high-quality accounting for leases the EU, and other jurisdictions world-wide, expect.'