Canada’s Chartered Accountants today announced the establishment of an independent public body to oversee the setting of auditing standards in Canada, and at the same time announced its first chairman.

Prominent business and commercial lawyer James Baillie will chair the new Auditing and Assurance Standards Oversight Council (AASOC), which will oversee the Assurance Standards Board (ASB), providing input, strategic direction and the perspective of users into the setting of auditing and assurance standards in Canada.

AASOC will have between nine and 12 members, with the chairman and majority of members drawn from outside the audit profession.

“In the wake of Enron and similar situations in the United States, public confidence in auditing and assurance standards is more important than ever,” said Baillie.

In addition to serving as counsel at law firm Torys LLP, in Toronto, Baillie is chairman of the Independent Electricity Market Operator (Ontario), a director of Sun Life Financial Services of Canada Inc., and non-executive Chair of Corel Corp. He has had a career-long involvement in public policy issues affecting the capital markets, at the federal and provincial levels, and served as chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission from 1978-1980.

The Assurance Standards Board is the national body with the authority and responsibility for setting auditing and assurance standards for the public and private sectors. The ASB continually aims to improve the quality of these services by developing and issuing guidance and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) and other assurance standards.

“The establishment of AASOC is another important step by the CA profession in ensuring public confidence in our capital markets and financial reporting system,” said David Smith, president and CEO of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The CICA, Provincial CA Institutes/Ordre, regulators and other key stakeholders have been working together to respond to Enron and similar situations. Initiatives to date are in four key areas: Accounting (and Assurance Standards; Auditor Independence; Oversight and Discipline; and Quality Control.

For more information, visit “The Profession Responds to Enron” at the CICA Web site.