Editorial

In early February, I was lucky to have the chance to spend an hour with EFRAG CEO and chairman of its Technical Expert Group (TEG), Andrew Watchman, before his term of office finishes this month. The EFRAG Board was set up in 2014 as a result of a report, “Should IFRS standards be more ‘European’?” published by Phillipe Maystadt at the end of 2013 in response to a request from the then Commissioner Barnier, now perhaps better known as Michel Barnier, chief Brexit negotiator for the EU. The report led to reform of the governance structure of EFRAG, in particular, the establishment of a new Board as its ultimate decision maker to which TEG then reported. Mr Maystadt’s report was sub-titled “Mission to reinforce the EU’s contribution to the development of international accounting standards”, which reflected an underlying concern about the level of EU influence over the IASB. The idea was that EFRAG would represent EU views speaking with “one voice” since it was felt that EU influence had diminished as a result of a lack of co-ordination between European stakeholders. Andrew is the first EFRAG CEO to have served exclusively under the reformed structure and in this interview he explains how the Board and TEG arrive at their positions, as well as outlining the relationship between EFRAG and the European Institutions and member states. EFRAG is a small organisation, but it certainly wields considerable influence both in Europe and internationally, and Andrew describes how its credibility and authority is built on the many stakeholders who participate in its governance, working groups and extensive consultation processes. Opportunities to become involved in EFRAG’s work in these different capacities are always published on its website, so if this interview sparks an interest, readers can seek to become involved.