* Padoa-Schioppa: U.S. is hurdle to truly global standards
* IASB's Cooper: changes so far to fair value well received
* IASB's Cooper: more work likely on impairment rule
By Huw Jones
BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The European Union was given a veiled warning on Wednesday not to undermine independence of global accounting rulemaking or else it risked damaging an "enormous success story".
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, newly appointed chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) trustees, said it was understandable that European policymakers took a closer look at how it approves rules which are mandatory for the EU's 7,000 listed companies.
Over 100 countries in all use the rules but for them to become a truly global standard, as requested by world leaders, the United States must be on board, the former Italian finance minister and a founder of the euro added.
America won't decide on that until next year and is watching Europe carefully as part of its debate on adoption, he told a Eurofi symposium on EU regulation.
EU finance ministers will discuss the IASB and the replacement of its chairman David Tweedie who steps down next year, over lunch on Thursday even though the board is not part of the 27-country bloc.
The EU has already raised concerns it may have compromised the IASB's independence after its finance ministers insisted the board diluted a rule on valuing assets which was forcing banks to make huge writedowns at the height of the financial crisis.
Padoa-Schioppa said the standard-setting may have appeared as a "take it or leave it" process.
Some EU policymakers still believe the process is not accountable enough despite changes.
WELL RECEIVED
The Europe was the first set of countries to adopt IASB rules, lending them critical mass in the early days. Some EU policymakers feel they should have a major voice at the IASB but Padoa-Schioppa rang a note of caution.
"The advantage of Europe may be lost out of good intentions," he added.
If the United States was put off from adopting IASB rules, the outcome could be severely damaging.
"There may well be a move towards regional standards," Padoa-Schioppa said.
The Group of 20 leading economies originally set a mid-2011 deadline for meshing the IASB and U.S. accounting standards but this has already slipped by several months for some aspects.
The IASB is taking a three-step approach to revamping its fair value or mark-to-market IAS 39 rule on how banks should periodically value different types of assets after the quick fix sought by EU ministers.
IASB board member Stephen Cooper said the first change relating to measurement has been "very well received globally".
There are concerns how the second step, regarding impairments or how to better anticipate losses at banks, would work in practice.
A decision on how and when an expected loss should be recognised will be made in October and the board may put this out to further public consultation, Cooper said.
The final leg, on hedge accounting involving assets such as derivatives, will be unveiled in draft form by year-end with finalisation of the entire IAS 39 rule by the summer of 2011.
Etienne Boris, director general of auditor PWC in France said changes so far to IAS 39 were "clearly a step in the right direction".
Cooper said the IASB has yet to hold a substantive debate on offsetting accounting rules but the board will be "somewhat reluctant to go to the U.S. model". (Editing by Stephen Nisbet) (huw.jones@thomsonreuters.com; + 44 207 542 3326))