La Federación Internacional de Contadores^® (IFAC^®), la organización global para la profesión contable, anunció que la Asociación de Contadores Públicos Colegiados (ACCA por sus siglas en inglés) brindará apoyo al Instituto de Contadores Públicos Certificados de Ruanda (iCPAR) en sus próximos pasos estratégicos de desarrollo y crecimiento.

El iCPAR se estableció en 2008, con el apoyo del gobierno de Ruanda y una serie de contribuyentes, y tan solo cuatro años más tarde, fue admitido como Asociado de la IFAC. Actualmente, el Instituto cuenta con más de 250 contadores cualificados que trabajan para una robusta economía, la cual ha experimentado un crecimiento significativo en los últimos cinco años y se espera que continúe creciendo.

"El iCPAR inició con solidez”, comentó Alta Prinsloo, Directora Ejecutiva y Directora Operacional y Estratégica de la IFAC. "Una profesión sólida y una capacidad potenciada son esenciales para apoyar el rápido crecimiento económico de Ruanda, así como para implementar reformas públicas de gestión financiera".

Bajo el proyecto, la ACCA trabajará con el iCPAR en la actualización de su plan estratégico y en el desarrollo de un plan de trabajo para implementar la estrategia, la cual incluirá un apoyo en la revisión y el fortalecimiento de sus sistemas para la educación contable, la cualificación y el desarrollo profesional continuo.

Además de lo anterior, la ACCA y el iCPAR están comprometidos con la firma de un Memorando de Entendimiento independiente que establecerá el marco para la colaboración transparente en las necesidades actuales y futuras. Ambos acuerdos contribuirán en promover una colaboración duradera y sostenible que apoye el crecimiento estratégico.

"La ACCA cuenta con 40 años de experiencia fortaleciendo a organizaciones profesionales de contabilidad, incluyendo su labor en economías de mercado emergentes y en estados frágiles y precarios, así como el trabajo con empleadores, gobiernos, reguladores y otros actores clave", manifestó Stephen Heathcote, Director Ejecutivo de Mercados de ACCA. "Creemos firmemente en el desarrollo de organizaciones nacionales de contabilidad robustas y autosostenibles que, a su vez, apoyen una profesión global sólida. El iCPAR tiene mucho con qué avanzar —desde su sólido inicio hasta su relación con el gobierno nacional—; este acuerdo le brindará el apoyo necesario para realmente ayudar a Ruanda.

En 2014, la IFAC recibió aproximadamente £5 millones del Departamento para el Desarrollo Internacional (DFID) del Reino Unido para financiar la creación de capacidad de la Organización Profesional de Contabilidad (PAO) en diez países emergentes durante un periodo de siete años. Este nuevo proyecto llevará adelante la financiación de 2014, en apoyo de una tercera PAO, tras una serie de proyectos para Ghana y Uganda, anunciados anteriormente. La elección de la ACCA se llevó a cabo tras un Llamado a Expresiones de Interés global y un extenso proceso de revisión de su propuesta, la cual implicó la participación del Comité de Supervisión para el Programa de Creación de Capacidad correspondiente a la PAO de la IFAC y el Panel Independiente de Selección.

Acerca de la IFAC
IFAC es la organización global para la profesión contable, dedicada a servir el interés público a través del fortalecimiento de la profesión y la contribución para el desarrollo de economías internacionales sólidas. La IFAC se compone de 175 miembros y asociados en 130 países y territorios, representando aproximadamente a 2,8 millones de contadores en la práctica pública, la educación, el gobierno, la industria y el comercio.

Acerca de la ACCA
ACCA (la Asociación de Contadores Públicos Colegiados) es un organismo global para los contadores profesionales. Esta ofrece certificaciones de primera elección —y relevantes a nivel corporativo— a personas de aplicación, capacidad y ambición alrededor del mundo que buscan una carrera gratificante en contabilidad, finanzas y administración.

ACCA apoya a sus 178.000 miembros y 455.000 estudiantes en 181 países, ayudándolos a desarrollar carreras exitosas en contabilidad y negocios, con las habilidades requeridas por los empleadores. La Asociación trabaja a través de una red de 95 oficinas y centros, y con más de 7.110 Empleadores Aprobados en todo el mundo, quienes proporcionan altos estándares de aprendizaje y desarrollo del empleado. A través de su área de interés público, la ACCA promueve la regulación apropiada de la contabilidad y realiza investigaciones relevantes para garantizar que la contabilidad continúe creciendo en reputación e influencia.

Fundada en 1904, ACCA ha mantenido los siguientes valores fundamentales: oportunidad, diversidad, innovación, integridad y responsabilidad. La Asociación considera que los contadores brindan un valor a las economías en todas las etapas de desarrollo, por lo que busca desarrollar capacidad en la profesión e impulsar la adopción de los estándares globales. Los valores centrales de la ACCA están alineados con las necesidades de los empleadores en todos los sectores, y esto lo garantiza con sus cualificaciones, preparando a los contadores para trabajar en las empresas. La ACCA busca abrir las puertas de la profesión a personas de toda proveniencia y eliminar las barreras artificiales, innovando sus cualificaciones y entrega para cumplir con las diversas necesidades de los profesionales capacitados y sus empleadores. Para mayor información referirse a www.accaglobal.com.

Acerca del DFID
El Departamento para el Desarrollo Internacional del Reino Unido (DFID) lidera el esfuerzo del Reino Unido para erradicar la pobreza extrema. El Departamento está acabando con la necesidad de auxilio generando empleos, explotando el potencial de mujeres y niñas y ayudando a salvar vidas en caso de emergencias humanitarias. Para mayor información, visitar la página www.gov.uk/dfid.

Senior representatives from governments, Supreme Audit Institutions, and professional accountancy organizations representing virtually every country and jurisdiction in Asia gathered in Malaysia to discuss how improved public financial management can promote better public services, accountability and transparency to support poverty reduction and economic growth.

The 2^nd Financial Reform for Economic Development (FRED II) Forum in Asia—hosted in Kuala Lumpur by the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) and the World Bank—included thought leaders and development partners from 33 Asian jurisdictions, including larger economies such as China, India, and Japan, and smaller ones such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Cambodia. The two-day landmark forum was a joint initiative of CAPA and the World Bank, and strongly supported by the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®).

“The increasing economic significance of Asia, together with ASEAN’s economic integration, is a potential game-changer for many of the region’s nations. However, success will depend on wide and deep acceptance of the principles of effective, accountable, and transparent governance. This is especially true of Asia’s public sector institutions, which must set the right policy directions and deliver high quality sustainable services if they are to maximize opportunities for their citizens in the global economy,” said CAPA Chief Executive, Brian Blood.

In her message to the Forum on emerging trends in Asia, World Bank Governance Senior Director Deborah Wetzel said, “the scope of challenges we face across the world today makes our focus on improved and strengthened governance a critically important area—in the form of (i) open, effective and accountable institutions that promote inclusive development, respond to citizens, and promote citizen engagement; (ii) efficient revenue mobilization that allows governments to be more inclusive and comprehensive in service delivery and poverty reduction; and (iii) effective public institutions that are critical in underpinning sustainable growth.”

“Achieving sustainable economic growth requires the coordination of public and private sector leaders who are dedicated to sound decision making based on high-quality information, accountability, and transparency,” said Fayez Choudhury, Chief Executive Officer of IFAC. “The accountancy profession plays a critical role in ensuring that sound financial management practices—in both the public and the private sectors—lead to economic development both globally and in Asia, as the region looks to emerge from recent financial pressures. FRED II advances an important discussion about the effectiveness of public financial management in building and sustaining economies.”

Two key papers were highlighted at the forum: 

Attracting and Retaining Finance Personnel in the Public Sector—a solutions-oriented approach developed by CAPA to help jurisdictions embrace the challenge of identifying, attracting, and retaining professional accountants and other key financial personnel to the public sector.

Unravelling the Secrets of Successful Public Financial Management Reforms:  Is There a Role for Professional Accountancy Organizations?—a forthcoming knowledge product of the World Bank, this retrospective study analyzes country cases of successful PFM reforms across two regions of the Bank: South Asia Region and East Asia and the Pacific. Themes from the study shared at the Forum focused on identified opportunities for the public sector to partner with the private sector specifically including professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) to influence policy, build PFM skills and capacity, and provide sustainability to PFM reforms and their outcomes. The full paper will be launched later this year.

FRED II examined a range of themes related to the 2000 UN-backed Millennium Summit and the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on the importance of effective, accountable, and transparent institutions in the developed and developing worlds. Discussions included:

• Public-private partnerships and collaboration with the private sector;
• Practical challenges in implementing accrual-based International Public Sector Accounting Standards;
• How improved public financial management contributes to strengthening the public sector;
• Attracting the next generation financial management professionals, especially for the public sector;
• The role of the accountancy profession and the need for robust public audit; and
• Rapidly aging demographics that have impacted growth and increased fiscal pressure in countries throughout the region.

Aspects of the Forum were sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), and PwC Malaysia. 

About FRED
A joint initiative of the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) and the World Bank, FRED—the Financial Reform for Economic Development Forum in Asia—was established in 2014. FRED I, held in Sri Lanka, explored the role of key participants in the financial reporting supply chain. FRED II, in Kuala Lumpur, will focus primarily on the role of the public sector, and the need for stronger public financial management to help the region’s nations grow. 

About CAPA
The Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA)’s mission is to develop, coordinate and advance the accountancy profession in the region. It is recognized by the global accountancy profession, represented by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), as a regional organization representing national professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) in Asia Pacific. 

About the World Bank Group
The World Bank Group is a development finance institution that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Its mission centers around two main goals: Ending extreme poverty by 2030 by decreasing the percentage of people living on less than $1.90 a day to no more than 3 percent, and promoting shared prosperity by fostering the income growth of the bottom 40 percent for every country. The World Bank Group is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has more than 10,000 employees in more than 120 offices worldwide. 

About IFAC
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession, dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. It is comprised of more than 175 members and associates in 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce. Accountability. Now. is an IFAC initiative to help drive awareness of the critical need for high-quality, transparent, comparable public sector financial reporting, and the importance of engaging citizens in the process of holding governments to account.

Several staff from IFAC and the independent standard-setting boards presented at the American Accounting Association’s 2016 International Accounting Section Mid-Year Meeting and PhD/New Faculty Consortium held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 18-20, 2016. The American Accounting Association serves accountants in academia. In an environment of innovation and collaboration, the AAA produces leading-edge research and publications and aims to shape the future of the profession.

The IFAC SMP Committee believes that the cooling-off period for the EQCR should not be increased. This is because:

Ahead of the Anti-Corruption Summit London 2016, the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) has signed a joint statement deploring corruption alongside professional accountancy organizations and the legal fraternity in the United Kingdom.

Welcoming the joint statement, IFAC President Olivia F. Kirtley said: “Defeating corruption—and thus immeasurably improving the lives of citizens—can only be achieved through re-energized collaboration between, and commitment of, leaders from both the public and private sectors.

“Both sectors require transparent, consistent and robust anti-corruption measures, and effective internal controls that are critical to good governance and holding officials accountable. A greater focus on strong governance and compliance structures will help cultivate self-reporting cultures that empower individuals to do the right thing,” she said.

In March, Ms. Kirtley addressed the OECD Anti-Bribery Ministerial Meeting on behalf of the global accountancy profession. At the meeting, she highlighted the importance of greater international collaboration on whistle-blower protection laws, and the role strong organizational governance plays in identifying, preventing and addressing corruption.

“Success in the fight against corruption can only be achieved when everyone plays their part: governments and regulators ensuring that safe harbors and whistle-blowing protections are provided, and other professions ensuring that their members embrace the challenge.

“Today’s joint statement highlights the vital role professional accountants and lawyers play in fighting corruption and our deep commitment to combatting it by continuing to work with governments, regulators, law enforcement agencies, and other international organizations,” she said. 

About IFAC
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession, dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. It is comprised of more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce. ‘International Federation of Accountants’ and ‘IFAC’ are registered trademarks of IFAC in the US and other countries.

Modules 1-3 only 

Building and maintaining a profession that is relevant to professional accountants in business, trends affecting the finance function, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and accountants in business perspective on audit quality, risk management, and integrated reporting were some of the topics debated at the recent IFAC Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee meeting.

The Committee, made up of an international group of PAIB thought leaders from IFAC member organizations, met in New York March 30-31 for its bi-annual meeting chaired by Charles Tilley, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Chief Executive.

Meeting highlights, outcomes, and recommended actions are available online. Insights from the meeting will help raise awareness of emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities affecting the accountancy profession and PAIBs across the globe, and will help the global profession coordinate activities. IFAC plans to issue a similar post-meeting output following each PAIB Committee meeting.