arnold schilder : dynamics in accounting and auditing in relation to banking supervision speech by professor arnold schilder, chairman of the bcbs accounting task force and executie director of the governing board of the netherlands bank, at the plenary session of the international conference of banking supervisors, madrid, 23 september 2004. the following speaking points should be read in conjunction with the related powerpoint presentation. these points have been organised under the relevant slide numbers and headings. * * * good morning, everyone! it is a privilege and a pleasure to be asked to introduce today ’ s panel discussions on the important changes taking place in accounting and auditing and their impact on banking supervision. 1. “ dynamics in accounting and auditing in relation to banking supervision ” it strikes me just how appropriate the title of my presentation truly is. yesterday ’ s discussions on the new capital framework confirmed to me that dynamics exist everywhere and are not confined just to accounting and auditing matters. and last evening many of us were able to attend the wonderful and very dynamic zarzuela performance, for which we thank our hosts from the bank of spain. this morning, we have just heard malcolm knight speak about the remarkable and equally dynamic evolution taking place in accounting, fuelled by convergence trends within banking, between banking and insurance and across global markets. i ’ m pleased that my remarks today will echo many of these same thoughts, and that the topics chosen for our workshops will focus on some of the key issues we supervisors need to think about as we and the institutions we regulate prepare for these changes. 2. the interaction : an overview this slide gives an overview of the different components that feed into and are supported by financial information. my presentation has been built around this overview and will look at these various interactions one by one. the role of sound accounting and adequate disclosure in the creation of useful information for markets and investors is obvious. sound auditing standards applied properly by auditors who also maintain high standards of professional conduct also contribute to market and investor confidence. in turn, these disciplines are also responsive to the changing needs of market, investors and other external stakeholders. the remaining elements on this slide also interact with the financial information process. for example, yesterday chairman caruana mentioned the importance of alignment between sound risk management and financial information. on the one hand, financial information generated from risk management activity should be provided to all external users of financial statements, but at the same time that information also provides important feedback to

stanley fischer : bank of israel ’ s achievements main points of the address by professor stanley fischer, governor of the bank of israel, on receiving the prime minister ’ s award, at the presentation of the awards by the cfo ( chief financial officers ) forum, tel aviv university, tel aviv, 2 january 2007. * * * first of all, i would like to thank you on behalf of the staff and managers of the bank of israel and on my own behalf for granting us this award. i know that we are being given the award because of the bank of israel ’ s achievements as reflected in the survey carried out by the cfo, and my colleagues and i are truly proud of that. i will not be letting out any secrets if i tell you that recently the bank of israel has been the object of much criticism. much of the criticism is unjustified and petty, but some is justified, and we treat that part very seriously and are taking steps to improve ourselves where necessary. i must stress one thing, however. i have not encountered any justified complaints about the professionalism of the bank ’ s staff in their work. professional arguments and differences of opinion regarding the activity of the bank of israel are legitimate and will continue to be so. but there are hardly any complaints about lack of professionalism. and the cfo survey corroborates this. thus, with regard to the decisions on the interest rate, there is no end to the differences of opinion and suggestions as to what to do with the interest rate. but these are generally based on professional considerations. the whole process of analysis and decision making in the bank of israel in this area is one of the finest i have come across. i inherited this excellent legacy from my predecessors. likewise with regard to the banking supervision. sometimes differences of opinion arise, and conflicting claims are made both by the banks and the public. but these are professional disagreements, and there will always be such. the staff in the banking supervision department are rightly considered to be of the highest caliber, and that was one of the points made by the imf delegation in its report on banking supervision in israel a year ago. the same applies to the management of israel ’ s foreign currency reserves, which currently stand at about $ 29 billion. the bank of israel is considered by the international institutions to be one of the best central banks in this area, and experts from the foreign currency department are invited quite regularly to advise other central banks. the picture with regard