On December 1, the Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) announced the appointment of Partner Thomas White as one of five new members of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC).
The FASAC is responsible for advising the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on strategic issues, project priorities and other matters that affect accounting standard setting. FASAC members are selected from a cross-section of the FASB's stakeholders, including users, preparers, practitioners, academics, association members, audit committee members and others interested in the integrity of full and complete financial reporting and disclosures.
“The FASAC is a diverse group of professionals whose input helps the FASB understand different perspectives on its standard-setting activities,” stated FASAC Chairman Andrew G. McMaster, Jr. “On behalf of the FASAC, I'm pleased to welcome our new members, and to thank them for their commitment to advising the Board in the development of accounting standards that bring greater transparency to the capital markets.”
“I am honored to have been selected by the FAF trustees as a member of the FASAC,” said White. “The FASAC plays an important role in FASB's development and implementation of high-quality accounting and reporting standards. I look forward to contributing to the FASAC's mission and working with the outstanding professionals who make up its membership.”
Thomas White is a leading practitioner in the area of corporate governance and disclosure, and has extensive experience representing corporate and institutional clients in complex business transactions. He has a special focus on legal aspects of accounting and auditing. White has practiced corporate and bankruptcy law at WilmerHale since 1983 and is General Counsel of the firm.
White recently completed a three-year term as Co-Chair of the National Conference of Lawyers and Certified Public Accountants. White has served as Chair of the Audit Responses and Law and Accounting Committees of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association. He hosts Focus on Audit Committees, Accounting and the Law, a WilmerHale blog that provides a legal perspective on developments affecting audit committees, as well as accounting standards, financial reporting, auditing and regulation of the accounting profession.
White will serve a one-year term on the FASAC beginning January 1, 2017, and is eligible to be reappointed for three additional one-year terms.