SEC Chief Accountant Injured in Bike Accident

James Schnurr, the chief accountant in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant, has been seriously injured in a bicycling accident, and the SEC named deputy chief accountant Wesley R. Bricker as interim chief accountant while Schnurr recuperates.

[IMGCAP(1)]As interim chief accountant, Bricker will be the SEC’s main advisor on accounting and auditing matters, the Commission announced Thursday. He will also consult with public companies that have to file with the SEC, along with auditors and other industry representatives. In addition, he will be responsible for overseeing the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, along with carrying out other duties of the SEC chief accountant as Schnurr recovers from the accident.

“Wes’ expert knowledge, leadership and analytic skills and Jim’s expertise and wealth of experience will continue to provide critical service to investors, companies and the Commission,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White in a statement.

Bricker was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers until he joined the SEC last year as deputy chief accountant (see SEC Names New Deputy Chief Accountant). He has since advised the SEC on accounting and auditing issues while working closely with FASB and groups in the private sector. He has been a frequent speaker at accounting conferences as well. He previously served as a professional accounting fellow in the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant from 2009 to 2011. Bricker has a CPA license and is a member of the New York State Bar.

[IMGCAP(2)]Schnurr floated a proposal last year for the SEC to allow companies to use some supplemental information from International Financial Reporting Standards in their financial statements in addition to their U.S. GAAP filings, which the SEC is still considering (see SEC Considering Support for Supplemental use of IFRS). He also encouraged FASB to set up a Transition Resource Group for the recently issued accounting standard on credit losses for financial instruments (see SEC Sets Up Transition Group for Credit Loss Standard).