The Big 6 (well, that's 4 and two hangers on really) have said that they think the model of worldwide financial reporting needs to change. I guess it was inevitable that they'd fall out with Sir David Tweedie and the IASB one day. If you have doubt that this is the case look at the speakers at their event this week - not one IASB person there.

But that's not the real story of what's going on here. Far from it. I'm curious that they have called their web site for this new initiative the 'Global Public Policy Symposium'. Global it may be. Public it is not. The report says that resolving the issues it raises will:

require a full conversation among the many stakeholders in the system of financial reporting: investors, companies, analysts and yes, auditors.

Hang on guys! Where are the other stakeholders? No doubt for investors you mean banks and pensions funds. What about the ordinary people? Those public you put in your title? What about the people who aspire to ownership but cannot afford it - the vast majority of the people in the world in other words? Where's the worlds regulators? And tax authorities? What about governments? Why don't they get a look in?

I think the omission is deliberate. I'll explain more on Monday.