Abstract This article presents the comment of Executive Professor Dennis R. Beresford regarding his tenure as the chairman of the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). In summarizing my tenure at the FASB, we did succeed in my primary goal of preserving the franchise. Also, our relationships with the academic community have been strengthened, our communications have been enhanced, and the FASB has taken a leadership role internationally. And, with a number of important changes in place to prepare for the future, I see many more years of success ahead. Yet, in many ways the challenges facing my successor are even more formidable than the ones I faced. Many parties will continue to challenge the goal of the FASB of neutrality in setting standards. The uncertainties surrounding international developments and the role of technology are truly daunting. And the Board must always carefully balance its independence and integrity with the need for reasonable support from its various constituents. When new Board or staff members joined the FASB, I always tried to give them one key bit of advice. I said that it is vital that they believe in the Board's mission and the need to serve the public interest. But it is also critical to remember that there is no God-given mandate that the FASB must survive and succeed. Every FASB employee must work hard each day with the objective of continuing to earn the support we require.
Dennis R. Beresford (Mon,) studied this question.