Well, nothing, of course. But nonetheless Lord MacGregor thinks he might like a dabble in accounting standards:

The government is facing fresh questions about whether current accounting rules are suitable for banks, amid claims that they permit the overstatement of profits and fail to provide a proper picture of losses.

The issue is being raised by Lord MacGregor, chairman of the House of Lords economic affairs committee, in a letter to Norman Lamb, the newly appointed employment minister, who also has responsibility for auditing.

Drawing upon quotes from Bank of England executive Andy Haldane, who used a speech last month to argue that accounting rules had helped in "both over-egging the financial upswing and elongating the financial downswing", the chairman of the committee asked whether the international financial reporting standards (IFRS) were "in conformity with UK law".

OK, so he's had a long and distinguished career as an MP and minister. And he's probably a smart guy, being chair of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. But what  does he know about accounting standards that makes him feel qualified to opine on the matter? According to the Wikipedia article on him, he was a merchant banker before becoming an MP at the age of 37. He's got no accounting experience and no relevant banking regulation experience. Is it really too much to ask that he stick to the sodding knitting and keep his nose out of things that he clearly does not understand?

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Filed under: Accounting, Politics, Regulation with tags banks, economic affairs committee, guardian, house of lords, idiots, lord macgregor