NEWS RELEASE 11/17/10

Financial Accounting Foundation Appoints Chairman and New Members to the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council

Norwalk, CT, November 17, 2010—The Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) has announced the appointment of Martin J. Benison as chairman of the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC). In addition, six new members were appointed to the GASAC effective January 1, 2011. The GASAC is responsible for advising the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) on technical issues, project priorities, and other matters that affect standard setting for state and local governments’ accounting and financial reporting.

Mr. Benison is comptroller of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Prior to being appointed comptroller in 1999, Mr. Benison served as deputy comptroller for 6 years, where he managed the accounting and financial reporting operations of the Commonwealth. He is a past president of the National Association of State Comptrollers and serves on the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers.

Mr. Benison has been a member of the GASAC since 2010. He succeeds outgoing chairman W. Daniel Ebersole, whose term on the GASAC expires on December 31, 2010. Mr. Ebersole was appointed chairman of the GASAC in 2007.

“Marty Benison has brought a wealth of experience in public-sector financial reporting to the GASAC, and we are delighted that he has agreed to serve in the role of chairman,” stated GASB Chairman Robert H. Attmore. “Under his leadership, we are confident that the GASAC will continue to provide the GASB with valuable feedback and insights that are important to the process of setting high-quality state and local government financial reporting standards.”

Mr. Attmore added, “I also extend our deepest thanks to Dan Ebersole, whose experience and expertise were critical to the GASAC’s ability to provide timely input to the GASB at a time when many state and local governments were facing the challenges of a changing economy.”

Members of the GASAC are chosen from a broad cross-section of the GASB’s state and local government constituencies, including preparers, attestors, and users of financial information. They are selected based on their professional expertise and in consideration of the need to bring a wide variety of constituent views to the table.

The following is a list of the newly appointed members (and the constituent organizations that nominated them) slated to begin their terms on the GASAC effective January 1, 2011:

• Michael R. Long, Treasurer, Klamath County, Oregon (nominated by the National Association of Counties)
   
• Amanda Noble, Deputy City Auditor, City of Atlanta, Georgia (nominated by the Association of Local Government Auditors)
   
• Cathy Provencher, Treasurer, State of New Hampshire (nominated by the Council of State Governments)
   
• Randy H. Riggs, Council Member, City of Waco, Texas (nominated by the National League of Cities)
   
• Anne G. Ross, Senior Vice President, Roosevelt & Cross, Inc. (nominated by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association)
   
• Robert W. Scott, Director of Finance/Treasurer, City of Brookfield, Wisconsin (nominated by the Government Finance Officers Association).

“On behalf of the FAF, I am pleased to congratulate Marty Benison on his new role, and to welcome all of our new GASAC members,” said Teresa S. Polley, FAF president and CEO. “The input received from GASAC members is critically important to the GASB in developing standards that lead to greater accountability and well-informed decision making through excellence in public-sector financial reporting.”

About the Governmental Accounting Standards Board

The GASB is the independent, not-for-profit organization formed in 1984 that establishes and improves financial accounting and reporting standards for state and local governments. Its seven members are drawn from the Board’s diverse constituency, including preparers and auditors of government financial statements, users of those statements, and members of the academic community. More information about the GASB can be found at its website, www.gasb.org.


About the Financial Accounting Foundation

The FAF is responsible for the oversight, administration, and finances of both the Financial Accounting Standards Board and its counterpart for state and local government, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. The FAF also is responsible for selecting the members of both Boards and their respective Advisory Councils.