Accounting Standards Board (ASB)
Definition
Formerly, the recognized body for setting accounting standards in the UK.
It was established in 1990 to replace the Accounting Standards Committee (ASC).
As well as issuing Financial Reporting Standards, the ASB issued reports known as Abstracts through its offshoot, the Urgent Issues Task Force. In 2012 the ASB was abolished and responsibility for setting standards was transferred to its parent body, the Financial Reporting Council. The ASB’s other functions were taken over by a new body, the Accounting Council.
Example
Example 1:
Just as Nigeria’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) currently sets and enforces accounting standards for Nigerian companies, the UK’s ASB played that same role for over two decades, issuing the Financial Reporting Standards that all British companies were required to follow.
Example 2:
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, a London-listed company like British Airways had to comply with Financial Reporting Standards issued by the ASB, ensuring their accounts met nationally recognized standards until the ASB was dissolved in 2012 and the FRC took full control.