Ten private-sector economic organizations, including the Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, announced Wednesday that they plan to set up a new body in July to map out unified standards for business accounting in Japan.
The new body will be funded by membership fees, to be set at 50,000 yen a share for individuals and 200,000 yen a share for listed companies, they said.
They said they expect the body's yearly operating costs to be around 700 million yen.
A subcommittee will be set up to enable members, including business leaders, scholars and accountants, to discuss the draft of the accounting standards, they said.
The standards were previously determined by the Business Accounting Council, an advisory panel to the head of the Financial Services Agency. This process has been criticized, however, as private organizations in the United States and European countries assume this role themselves.
The new Japanese body aims to improve transparency in accounting standards so that Japanese companies can retain credibility in the eyes of investors both at home and abroad, they said.