Our recent story that says the SEC wouldn't sign off on FASB's budget until it was given a more formal role in FASB nominations has stirred a lot of controversy.
SEC spokesman John Nester, for example, argues in that story that the memo in question simply formalizes an existing process, and gave the SEC "no more say. . . or areas of oversight."
There's also a semantic question of whether the SEC actually "approves" FASB's budget. Technically, it "reviews" the budget to determine whether the fees public companies pay for FASB are appropriate. But it can challenge budget items — as it did in the case of FASB's proposed raises. And until the SEC issues an order saying it is satisfied, FASB can't collect the fees that support its operations. That sounds a lot like approval, even if the law uses a different word. (By the way, it is the PCAOB that actually sends out the bills for FASB.)
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