The Australian government has initiated a reform aimed at consolidating the country’s financial reporting bodies to enhance the economy’s competitiveness and productivity.  

A consultation paper has been released, inviting insights on restructuring financial reporting to optimise efficiency and effectiveness. 

The proposed reform represents a move to create a unified entity responsible for setting accounting, sustainability, auditing, and assurance standards.  

This aligns with the government’s broader regulatory reform agenda, which includes changes to merger settings and foreign investment regulations. 

The consultation paper requests feedback on the structure and governance of the new body that would merge the roles of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board , and the Financial Reporting Council.  

The paper states that: “In November 2023 the Government announced its intention to streamline the financial reporting architecture by combining the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) into a single body.” 

The government notes that the stakeholders are encouraged to comment on standard-setting processes, board transparency, independence of board candidates, and measures to bolster governance and oversight. 

The integrated body is also expected to support the development of climate-related financial disclosure standards.  

The government emphasises that the new architecture should be adaptable to changing priorities and issues in the financial landscape.  

This reform is envisioned to serve as a hub for standard development and issuance, aiming to streamline regulatory processes and eliminate redundant costs in financial reporting.