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Financial Accounting Foundation, subsequently named board member Leslie Seidman as acting chair.
While at press time no o;cial reason had
been given for Herz’s abrupt exit, it was notable that he still had two years remaining in
his second ;ve-year term. A search for Herz’s
successor is currently underway.
Meanwhile, the heads of domestic and international accounting organizations opined
that FASB could not a;ord to lose much momentum post-Herz, despite the lengthy to-do
list and a temporarily reduced board.
“An important question facing FASB now
isn’t how will it change, but what is the work it
still has to accomplish,” said Barry Melancon,
president and chief executive of the Ameri-
can Institute of CPAs. “Two major priorities
that are critical have to do with convergence
with international accounting standards and
balancing theoretical accounting issues with
practical application for the di;erent busi-
ness and user segments. FASB recognizes
there is a demand for one set of global ac-
counting standards and has worked with the
International Accounting Standards Board
for the past eight years toward achieving that
end. Even if the United States adopts IFRS
— and we believe it will — FASB will have to
help public companies make the transition to
a new method of ;nancial reporting.”
“Bob Herz was an extraordinary leader
of FASB, steadily leading the board through
some very difficult and volatile economic
After Herz
FROM PAGE 1
countant and I want someone who knows
NetSuite.’ Additionally, as accountants grow
in our network, we will have a more available
list [of accountants] who know a particular
industry and know NetSuite that we can rec-
ommend to customers.”
NetSuite users whose accounting ;rms join
the program can provide the ;rm with secure
single-seat access to their NetSuite account at
their discretion.
Accounting ;rms in the program also get
discounts on training classes, as well as a free
NetSuite demonstration account. Firms can
also receive bene;ts for referring new business to NetSuite, and be eligible for a 10 percent commission on the ;rst year’s license
for new referrals.
NetSuite president Zach Nelson admitted
that a formalized program has been a long
time coming, but claimed that the company
has never ignored accountants, and that now
is the right time to make the push.
NetSuite
FROM PAGE 1
times,” said Bob Bunting, president of the
International Federation of Accountants. “He
also championed and set the stage for the
convergence of global accounting standards,
and in this regard, his voice as chairman of
FASB will be sorely missed. But I have great
faith that Bob’s retirement will not diminish
FASB’s overall resolve to work actively and
purposefully to achieve global convergence
of accounting standards.”
Concurrent with Seidman’s interim ap-
pointment, the FAF revealed that the board
would be expanded to its original slate of
seven members, thereby reversing a 2008
decision to reduce it to ;ve. However, FAF
Chairman Jack Brennan did not reveal a
timetable for the appointments.
SEIDMAN’S BURDEN
“With a new chair and two new board mem-
bers, there is likely to be some e;ect on the
style in which the board delivers its message
and agenda,” said Marie Hollein, president
and chief executive of Financial Executives
International. “We believe Leslie is absolutely
quali;ed to hold the position of acting FASB
chair at this crucial point in time, and look
forward to continuing working with her.”
Prior to joining the board in 2003, Seidman
served as vice president of accounting policy
at J.P. Morgan & Co. At FASB, she has been
spearheading e;orts on leasing standards.
She was not available for comment.
Herz had been one of the main drivers of
converging GAAP with IFRS and had been
working with Sir David Tweedie, his counterpart at the International Accounting Stan-
“Going way back to the NetLedger [the precursor to NetSuite] days, accountants were
a big part of our strategy,” Nelson said. “;e
cloud approach, we thought, would be a boon
because they could handle more clients and
the model would allow you to log into their
account, handle more clients, and do the
work remotely. It has taken longer to move
[to the cloud] than we or anyone else would
have liked. Now I think [CPAs] are getting it
and they want broader services to o;er. We
always thought the accounting community
would have a great opportunity with us.”
CLOUD MIGRATION
The American Institute of CPAs’ marketing services arm, CPA2Biz, has also made it
clear that it wants accountants and CPAs to
embrace cloud-based solutions, whether for
themselves or their clients.
And while NetSuite is not a part of the
portal’s Trusted Business Advisor Solutions
program, CPA2Biz president Erik Asgeirsson
recognized the signi;cance of the company’s
latest move.
dards Board. Both boards had agreed on a
June 2011 deadline of completing many of the
major obstacles in terms of projects after getting pressure from the G- 20 leaders. However,
Tweedie is set to retire in June 2011, leaving
a large void in convergence leadership both
domestically and internationally.
FASB is also seeking comment on some
nine exposure drafts on the convergence
roadmap — ;ve of which at press time were
due in September — including some broadly
debated issues, such as revenue recognition,
lease accounting, accounting for contingent
liabilities, and ;nancial instruments.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange
Commission is expected to begin providing
its own progress reports on the Work Plan for
Global Accounting Standards by October.
In addition to driving convergence, FASB in
2007 teamed with the AICPA and the National
Association of State Boards of Accountancy
to form a Blue Ribbon Panel on standards for
private companies, with recommendations
due by the end of 2010.
In 2009, Herz was subject to intense pressure from lawmakers, which resulted in a
House hearing in March where they threatened legislation to force FASB to loosen fair
value standards. Shortly thereafter, FASB issued guidelines easing the rules that force
banks to value assets at current prices.
Conversely, in 2005 Herz guided in con-
troversial new rules that required companies
to expense stock options, despite strong op-
position from many tech companies and law-
makers, particularly those with constituents
in Silicon Valley. AT
“[;e announcement] clearly shows the
level of adoption which is occurring in the
CPA profession related to cloud computing,”
said Asgeirsson. “In particular, cloud comput-
ing is making a signi;cant impact to client ac-
counting and providing virtual CFO services
for small businesses. ;is announcement is
another validation of what we are experienc-
ing with our ;rms and programs.”
Others active in the accounting commu-
nity see the move as either an evolution in the
company’s lifecycle or, at the least, validation
of the cloud computing space.
