ICAS has hit out at recent US accounting changes, claiming that they could undermine confidence in financial reporting and should not be adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board. Currently, the standard-setter is in talks and seeking views from the profession, following the relaxation of US rules by its American counterpart, the Financial Accounting Standards Board. ICAS is claiming that the existing guidance set out by the IASB is adequate and any further changes to it will question its ability to withstand political pressure. Recent months have seen increasing political pressure on the standard-setter to change its accounting rules, and now the FASB has bowed to political pressure from Congress after the G-20 summit, putting increasing pressure on the IASB. Hugh Shields, chief economic adviser at ICAS, said:'The IASB should resist following the example of the US. The US changes are an attempt to respond to institutional concern about current market conditions but risk undermining investor confidence at a critical time for banks. 'These are tough times, but changing the rules to make things look better should fool nobody.'