The IFAC SMP Committee agrees that emerging forms of external reporting (EER) are still evolving and supports the initiative to better understand the developments and challenges being encountered. At this stage, it does not believe there is a need for the IAASB’s international standards to cover a broader range of engagements than what are currently addressed.

Opportunities, lessons learned, and ongoing challenges in the adoption and implementation of international standards and best practices across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region were recently explored during a Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs) workshop held in Sweimeh, Jordan, on January 21. A number of common concerns highlighted the importance of, and clear opportunities for, collaboration to drive solutions that benefit current and future auditors and accountants.

The workshop facilitated a cross-border exchange of experiences, ideas, and solutions, and highlighted the possibilities for regional cooperation to address challenges such as:

• fragmented and outdated legal frameworks;
• a need to define small- and medium-sized entities and implement suitable standards;
• keeping adopted international standards up to date;
• a lack of unified and timely translations;
• insufficient technical and financial resources; and
• inadequate resources for independent quality assurance and investigation and discipline systems.

The workshop, held in cooperation with the Jordanian Association of Certified Public Accountants (JACPA) and the World Bank Group’s Global Governance Practice, included more than 55 representatives from 27 organizations in the MENA region, including 20 professional accountancy organizations. Representatives from the Gulf Cooperation Council Accounting and Auditing Organization, Pan African Federation of Accountants, and the Arab Federation of Accountants and Auditors also participated to discuss regional issues and share their experiences.

Workshop presentations are available below. 

• Strengthening Quality and Support for IFAC Membership (English)
• Yemen Association for Certified Public Accountants: Proactivity in IFRS Adoption and Implementation (English)
• Promoting the Adoption of IPSAS in Palestine ­– PACPA’s Experience (English)
• La régulation indépendante de l’audit en Tunisie: le débat continue (French)
• Kuwait Association of Accountants and Auditor’s Involvement with Government Regulators to Support an Investigation and Discipline System (Arabic)
• Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants: Supporting Implementation of IESBA Code of Ethics during the Adoption Process (English)
• JACPA’s Professional Development and Certification of Accountants and Auditors (English)

Detailed discussion notes, including challenges and solutions in a number of different areas, are also available.

IFAC staff will soon publish an article on the Knowledge Gateway detailing the workshop and learnings.

The IFAC Member Compliance Program serves the public interest by promoting the adoption and supporting the implementation of international standards on private and public sector accounting, auditing, ethics, and education, as well as related quality assurance and enforcement mechanisms establishment.

IFAC is pleased to respond to Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA)’s Consultation Paper, Mandatory Audit Rotation.

IFAC recognizes the crucial role that audit plays in the financial reporting ecology. However, while vital, it is just one element of the supply chain for high-quality financial reporting. Others in the financial reporting supply chain include financial report preparers, organizational management, boards of directors, audit committees, regulators, standard setters, investors, and financial statement users.

A revised and updated version of IFAC’s Policy Position Paper 8, Enhanced Organizational Reporting: Integrated Reporting Key, is available on the IFAC website. The paper outlines IFAC position that integrated reporting is the way to achieve a more coherent corporate reporting system, fulfilling the need for a single report that provides a fuller picture of organizations’ ability to create value over time.

Other IFAC’s views detailed in the paper are:

• IFAC’s strong support for the International Integrated Reporting Council and implementation of its Framework;
• that the integrated report can be used as an “umbrella” report for an organization’s broad suite of reports and communications, enabling greater interconnectedness between different reports and recognizing that there is a range of different frameworks and regulations available, and under development;
• the importance of reporting that produces information on which assurance conclusions can be expressed, in accordance with high-quality international assurance standards; and
• the accountancy profession’s significant contribution, and its important role, in developing and implementing enhanced organizational reporting, with professional accountants playing an important role in broad-based organizational reporting arrangements, and in providing assurance.

This updated edition of the paper includes a new section, “A Coherent Corporate Reporting System with Integrated Reporting”, which describes integrated reporting in more detail and the connection to integrated thinking as a foundation.

Integrated reporting is the way to achieve a more coherent corporate reporting system, fulfilling a need for a single report that provides a fuller picture of organizations’ ability to create value. Integrated reporting can be used as an “umbrella” report for an organization’s broad suite of reports and communications, enabling greater interconnectedness between different reports. IFAC also strongly supports the International Integrated Reporting Council and the implementation of its Framework.