Ian Ball

Biography

Ian Ball is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Accounting and Commercial Law at Victoria University of Wellington.

Until 2021, he was Chair of the Audit Committee for the financial statements of the New Zealand Government.

He was Chief Executive Officer of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) (2002-2013). Earlier, as Chairman of the IFAC Public Sector Committee (now the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board) (1995-2000), he initiated and led the development of International Public Sector Accounting Standards.

While with the New Zealand Treasury (1987-1994) he was responsible (as Director of Financial Management Policy and Central Financial Controller) for the design, and then implementation, of the New Zealand Government’s financial management system and the development of the Public Finance Act 1989.

He has also been Professor of Accounting and Public Policy at Victoria University of Wellington (1994-2013) and a member of the New Zealand Accounting Standards Review Board and the Standards Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Board. In the period 2010-2014 he was closely involved in the development of Integrated Reporting, having chaired the Working Group and been a board member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC).

Ball is a Fellow and Life Member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, where he served as a member of the Council and of the Executive Board. He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. He has degrees in accounting from Victoria University of Wellington and a PhD from the University of Birmingham, England.

He is a recipient of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s President’s Medal and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Life Membership distinction. He has also been awarded the International Federation of Accountant’s International Gold Service Award and its Outstanding Achievement Award. He is an Honorary Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to the Accounting Profession by the Association of International Accountants (AIA). He has been named a “Top 10 Influencer” by International Accounting Bulletin.

Interviews

 Ian Ball on Reforming New Zealand’s Public Financial Management System, Why Governments Should Adopt Accrual Accounting, & Why They Should Track and Strengthen Public Net Worth, January 25, 2025

Op-Eds

The Importance of the Balance Sheet in Managing Government Finances (w/ Dag Detter & John Crompton), January 23, 2025

Public Assets - Key to Meet Fiscal Challenges … But International Guidelines Need Updating (w/ Dag Detter), January 7, 2025

Known For

Being A Principal Architect of the New Zealand Government’s 1980’s Financial Management Reforms.

Education

PhD Government Finance & Administration, University of Birmingham

BCA (Hons) in Accounting, Victoria University of Wellington

Fields

Accounting

Government Administration

Occupation

Adjunct Professor, Victoria University of Wellington (2018 - Present)

Chair, Audit Committee for the Financial Statements of Government, New Zealand Treasury (2014 - 2021)

Chief Executive Officer, International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) (2000 - 2013)

Chairman, Public Sector Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) (1996 - 2000)

Professor of Accounting and Public Policy, Victoria University of Wellington (1994 - 2013)

Central Financial Controller, New Zealand Treasury (1990 - 1994)

Director of Financial Management Policy, New Zealand Treasury (1987 - 1989)