The IASC, chaired by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker, is a 19-member oversight body that represents six continents and 14 countries. Its trustees were appointed in May 2000 by a nominating committee composed of leading policy-makers and chaired by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt.

"This group is exceptionally well qualified to ensure we reach the goal of globally accepted standards," Volcker said. "The result should bring highly significant economic benefits to both the developed and emerging economies."

The new board includes twelve full-time members and two part-time positions.

The Board will be led by Sir David Tweedie, former chairman of the U.K. Accounting Standards Board.

"The mission of the newly-created IASB is simple," said Tweedie. "In partnership with national standard setters, we will aim to increase the transparency of financial reporting by achieving a single, global method of accounting for transactions -- whether in Stuttgart, Sydney, Seattle or Singapore."

"The potential benefit to the world economy by removing barriers to investment through applying uniform, high-quality standards is enormous," Tweedie added.

Its U.S. members are: Mary Barth, an accounting professor at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University; Robert Herz, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Jim Leisenring, director of international activities of the Financial Accounting Standards Board; and FASB member Anthony T. Cope.

The remaining board members are: Thomas E. Jones, former principal financial officer of Citicorp and former chairman of the IASC Board; Hans-Georg Bruns, former chief accounting officer for DaimlerChrysler; Robert Garnett, executive vice president of finance for Anglo American plc; Gilbert Gélard, a partner at KPMG in France, Warren McGregor, former CEO of the Australian Accounting Research Foundation; Patricia O'Malley, chair of the Accounting Standards Board of Canada; Harry Schmid, a former senior vice president for Nestlé; Geoffrey Whittington, a professor of financial accounting at Cambridge University; and Tatsumi Yamada, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers member firm ChuoAoyama Audit Corp. in Tokyo.

The board will meet for the first time in April.

-- SmartPros News Staff

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