The Australian government is moving forward with merging the country’s accounting standard setters and watchdog as it looks for more flexible regulation in the face of mandatory sustainability reporting.
The Australian Accounting Standards Board, Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and Financial Reporting Council will be merged into a new body, External Reporting Australia, the Treasury said Thursday as it issued draft legislation implementing the move for consultation.
The merger was first proposed in November 2023, when the government said the new body should be operational by July 2026, subject to the necessary legislation. The government also published responses ...