The Road to Better Financial Reporting

Reflections on Comparability and Convergence

Russell Golden

About the SpeakersWesley Bricker serves as the chief accountant for the SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA). (Editor's note: Bricker left the SEC in June 2019 after this speech was given.) The accounting group advises the SEC on accounting and auditing matters, and works closely with private sector accounting bodies such as FASB. Bricker was previously the OCA's deputy chief accountant. Before joining the SEC, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was responsible for clients in the banking, capital markets, financial technology, and investment management sectors.Russell Golden has served as chair of FASB since 2013, after previously being a board member for three years. Prior to that appointment, he served for two years as FASB's technical director, overseeing FASB staff work on accounting standards and technical application and implementation activities. He also chaired the FASB's Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF). He has been with the board since 2004.Bricker and Golden presented the opening remarks at Baruch College's 18th Annual Financial Reporting Conference, held on May 2, 2019. The following is an edited transcript of their remarks. The views expressed are their own and not necessarily those of the SEC, FASB, the commissioners, the board members, or the staff. Official positions of FASB are only reached after extensive due process and deliberations.