Ball, FASB staffer, retires.

JT Ball, who has been with the FASB as long as there's been a FASB, announced his retirement effective June 30. Currently assistant director of research and technical activities, he started at the Financial Accounting Standards Board in 1973 as senior technical adviser to the chairman and the board. Before that he had spent tour years with the FASB's predecessor, the Accounting Principles Board, as an American Institute of CPAs staff member preparing interpretations of APB opinions. His original job at the AICPA was assistant director of examinations, a post he held for two years, preparing and supervising the grading of the Uniform CPA Examination.

At the FASB he's worn many hats over the years, supervising staff members handling implementation and practice problems. He is the liaison with the AICPA accounting standards executive committee--"I've missed only one meeting of AcSEC since its inception," he said--and with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In an interview with the Journal he discussed some of the early years and milestones of the FASB. "At the beginning," he said, "the FASB had inherited a lot of projects from the APB. The big problem was which were the most urgent, the most important. Meanwhile, we kept hearing questions--still around today: Can the FASB succeed' Will it stay in business?" There were growing pains--"just the usual agony of any new organization."

Red-letter dates

"In my opinion, one of the biggest events in the FASB's history was the formation of the emerging issues task force in 1984," he said. "For the first time there was an organized mechanism to deal with the crisis problems of the day." Another highlight was the creation of the successful fellows program in 1974. Although an article in the FASB's Status Report praised Ball for organizing the program, in which more than 70 fellows have participated, he is modest about it. "It actually originated with Ray Groves, who was managing partner of what is now Ernst & Young. You could say I was just the messenger who presented the idea to the chairman, Marshall Armstrong."

FASB Chairman Dennis Beresford, who is also retiring on June 30, said Ball is "truly one of the pioneers of the FASB and the standard-setting process....His technical knowledge, professionalism, institutional memory and dedication will be greatly missed."