NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Teresa S. Polley today announced her decision to resign as President and CEO of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) after eleven years leading the organization. She will remain at the organization until the details of a leadership transition plan are finalized. The FAF Board of Trustees, in accordance with its existing succession plan, has named Vice President and General Counsel John W. Auchincloss as Acting President. He will serve upon the conclusion of Polley’s tenure as President and CEO, and until a permanent replacement for Polley is named.

The FAF is the independent, private-sector, not-for-profit organization based in Norwalk, Connecticut responsible for the oversight, administration, financing, and appointment of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), and their advisory councils.

Polley first joined the organization in 1987 as a Technical Associate for the FASB. She moved over to the FAF as Controller in 1990 and returned to the FASB as Executive Director of Advisory Groups in 1999. She was named President of FAF in 2008, and CEO in 2010.

FAF Chairman Charles H. Noski said: “On behalf of the FAF Trustees, I want to thank Terri for her more than three decades of hard work and service to the organization. She has had a long history of staff and leadership roles at both the FASB and the FAF, including more than a decade as FAF’s President and CEO. During that time, Terri has led key internal initiatives, including major upgrades to FAF’s technology infrastructure, and has played a vital role in such matters as FAF’s strategic planning efforts (in collaboration with the FASB and the GASB), its appointment of talented leaders to serve as FAF Trustees and standard-setting Board members, and communications with governmental and other stakeholders. We extend our best wishes to Terri for her next chapter.”

Polley stated: “It has been a privilege to work for a mission-driven organization filled with exceptional people who get to do something extraordinary as their life's work: set accounting standards that help make the capital markets function efficiently and effectively.”

Polley’s tenure as President and CEO is marked by a number of important initiatives and improvements to the organization. During her eleven years in the job, the FAF and its Trustees:

• Enhanced the organization’s presence in Washington, DC to ensure that policymakers there stay current on key issues in accounting and financial reporting
• Successfully established GASB funding authority to enhance the integrity of the standard-setting process
• Implemented a Trustee-led Post-Implementation Review process to ensure that new FASB and GASB standards are fulfilling their intended purposes for users of financial statements
• Restored the FASB to its present size of seven members, and
• Established a new Private Company Council to provide advice and insight about accounting standards to the FASB from a private company perspective.

In addition to her leadership of the FAF staff, Polley serves as a Trustee of St. Francis University (Pennsylvania). She is also a past Chair of the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce and a past board member at Malta House in Norwalk.

About the Financial Accounting Foundation

Established in 1972, the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) is the independent, private-sector, not-for-profit organization based in Norwalk, Connecticut responsible for the oversight, administration, financing, and appointment of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The FASB and GASB establish and improve financial accounting and reporting standards—known as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP—for public and private companies, not-for-profit organizations, and state and local governments in the United States. For more information, visit www.accountingfoundation.org.