Charles Bowsher

Bowsher Named to FAF

A s expected, Charles A. Bowsher, who recently completed a 15-year term as comptroller general of the United States, was elected to a 3-year term as a member of the board of trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation. The FAF funds, oversees and selects members of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. (See “Bowsher Says Goodbye, Pleased Federal Government Is More Accountable,” JofA, Oct.96, page 13).

Before his GAO service, Bowsher had been a partner of Arthur Andersen & Co. and assistant secretary of the navy for financial management. His awards include Beta Alpha Psi’s Accountant of the Year and the American Institute of CPAs Outstanding CPA in Government; in August 1996 he was inducted into the Ohio State University Accounting Hall of Fame. He is not completely new to the FAF, having served on both the FASB’s and GASB’s advisory councils.

Getting a Grip on Intangibles

N ew York University established the Intangibles Research Center at its Stern School of Business to address the growing need for information about corporate investment in intangibles (such as research and development, franchise and brand development and human capital enhancement). The center will help researchers gather data and exchange information with appropriate business executives.

Although investments in intangibles have been growing quickly throughout all developed countries, current accounting treatments make it difficult to, among other things, assess the rate of return of investment in intangibles and determine the value of a company’s intangible investments. Accounting standard setters worldwide therefore are finding it difficult to improve disclosures about intangibles.

The center’s board of directors includes staff members of the American Institute of CPAs, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and international organizations. The 17-member board also includes representatives from accounting firms, industry and academia as well as observers from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The center invites both academics and practitioners considering, or currently engaged in, intangibles research to submit three-to-five-page proposals stating objectives, methodology and needs, such as access to corporate data and funding. All correspondence and queries should be addressed to the center’s director, Professor Baruch Lev, Stern School of Business, 40 West 4th Street, New York, New York 10012; phone: 212-998-0028; fax: 212-995-4004; e-mail: blev@stern.nyu.edu .