Sox First

Last week, I did a blog entry on how Deutsche Bank had exploited the weak-kneed approach of the International Accounting Standards Board and European Commission allowing banks to reclassify assets, basically turning an out and out loss into a reported profit.

Now the IASB seems to be coming out and saying they're doing it tough with the chairman Sir David Tweedie admitting he nearly resigned when the IASB was forced to allow the reclassification. However, Sir David says he is hanging in because he wants to see one set of standards, or accounting rules, globally. He will probably have to wait. As Business Week points out, there is a fair bit of resistance to convergence. It's no lay-down certainty.

• Why Nicolas Sarkozy hates David Cameron and the Poms
• IASB under fire
• David Cameron's Twitter Tsar
• Interview with David Rosenthal, md of Curtis-Rosenthal on subprime