AccountAbility is pleased to announce that two internationally-renowned experts in accounting, financial reporting, governance, and standards development have joined the senior management team. Kurt Ramin assumes the role of director, and global head of standards, while Liv Watson takes over as director and global head of research and development.
Sunny Misser, CEO of AccountAbility commented: “I am delighted that two leaders with the international stature, experience and credibility of Kurt and Liv are now part of AccountAbility. Their appointments enhance our global management team, broaden our access to vital stakeholder networks and add to AA’s breadth and depth of talent.”
Ramin is a pioneer in global reporting languages and standards, having previously been a director and advisor to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation at the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in London for over 10 years. His work on behalf of the IASB involved introducing XBRL and IFRS to more than 70 countries. During his tenure with the IASB he served as the global chairman of XBRL and was a member of the EU Commission High Level Expert Group and the Brookings Institution Task Force on Intangibles.
“The AA1000 Standards are the widely-acknowledged benchmark in corporate responsibility,” said Ramin. “I look forward to working closely with the stakeholder community to further the development of the standards and achieve broader usage of AA1000.”
Prior to joining the IFRS Foundation and its predecessor, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), Kurt was a Global Capital Markets Group partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York. He holds MBA, CPA, and CEBS degrees and is a board member of several international organisations. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Financial Executives International and other professional associations. Kurt currently serves as treasurer on the Council of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s largest association of conservation agencies, headquartered in Switzerland.
Watson is a highly regarded expert in corporate governance, financial reporting, and XBRL. In fact, she is one of the original developers of the XBRL standard, as well as a founder of the XBRL International consortium. Working with leading market regulators, accounting associations and institutions, she has become well known as a global ambassador for XBRL and IFRS and speaks regularly at international events on corporate governance and standards. Liv has also served in several leadership positions related to the XBRL standard, including as a member of the International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation (IASCF) Advisory Committee and the XBRL International Steering Committee.
“I firmly believe that properly-designed and well-executed research can unlock insights to help address many of the CR challenges organizations are facing today,” said Watson. “My mission will be to continue to develop the analytical rigor and practical relevance that has been the hallmark of AccountAbility research throughout the years.”
She is also an accomplished writer and commentator, having been a co-author and contributing author on several books among them, XBRL for Dummies, and the Governance, Risk and Compliance Handbook. Her articles and commentary have been published in leading business journals, including the Harvard Business Review and Strategic Finance. In 2007, one of her articles received the Lybrand Silver Medal, and was selected for inclusion in the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) 2007 Articles of Merit. In addition, she developed one of the Institute for Management Accountants’ most successful CPE courses, “Accounting System Technology for the 21st Century.”
Prior to joining AccountAbility, Liv was an executive advisor to WebFilings, a privately held US company that offers web-based software for SEC financial reporting.
Subscribe to our newsletter
