This independent report, commissioned by IFAC, highlights improvements that have been made to the financial reporting supply chain in recent years and identifies areas for further improving the usefulness of financial reports.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession, is seeking nominations for the position of IFAC Deputy President and for members of its boards and committees for 2009, including three public member positions. IFAC member bodies, and in some instances members of the Forum of Firms and members of the public, may nominate candidates by April 15, 2008. The IFAC Deputy President and all members of IFAC's boards and committees are expected to act in the public interest and must sign a declaration committing to act with integrity and in the public interest in their role within IFAC.

Deputy President
IFAC member bodies may nominate individuals for the position of Deputy President for the period November 2008 to November 2010. Candidates for the position of Deputy President must be a current or nominated member of the IFAC Board. After serving a two-year term, the Deputy President will assume the Presidency of IFAC.

The Deputy President works with the President and Chief Executive Officer in implementing IFAC's Strategic Plan; represents IFAC among its member bodies, various stakeholders, and other external organizations; and chairs IFAC's Planning and Finance Committee. A nominee for the position of Deputy President should be a very senior and highly respected member of the profession with exceptional leadership skills. He or she should also have an awareness of the social and economic environment in which the global profession, IFAC and its member organizations operate.

Member Body Nominations for Board and Committees
Member bodies are also invited to nominate qualified candidates for open positions on the following IFAC boards and committees for terms commencing January 1, 2009:

• IFAC Board;
• International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board;
• International Accounting Education Standards Board;
• International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants;
• International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board;
• Compliance Advisory Panel;
• Developing Nations Committee;
• Professional Accountants in Business Committee;
• Small and Medium Practices Committee; and
• Nominating Committee.

Member bodies may submit more than one nomination for each board or committee, and they are encouraged to nominate candidates with varying backgrounds.

Public Member Nominations
IFAC is also seeking nominations for two public member positions on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and one public member position on the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board. Public members must be seen to be independent of any special interests and seen to be acting to represent society as a whole. Nominees for the public member positions must have an appropriate level of knowledge about the work of the respective standard-setting board, although they do not need to have a professional accountancy designation. IFAC member bodies, regional accountancy organizations, other organizations, accounting firms, and members of the general public may submit public member nominations, but in all cases the individuals nominated must clearly represent the broad public interest.

Forum of Firms Nominations
A total of five positions on the standard-setting Public Interest Activity Committees¹ are open to nominations from members of the Forum of Firms, an association of international networks of accounting firms that perform audits of financial statements that are or may be used across national borders. Two positions are open on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, one position is open on the International Accounting Education Standards Board, and two positions are open on the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants.

How to Submit Nominations
The Call for Nominations for IFAC Boards and Committees in 2009 describes the positions available and the qualifications required for each position, as well as the process for submitting nominations. The Call for Nominations may be viewed on IFAC's website at https://www.ifac.org/NominatingCommittee/index.php#Process. All nominations must be submitted by April 15, 2008 using the online Candidate Information System. For more information about the role and activities of each of IFAC's boards and committees, visit its website at https://www.ifac.org/.

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. IFAC is comprised of 157 members and associates in 123 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC sets international standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

¹ The standard-setting Public Interest Activity Committees are the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, the International Accounting Education Standards Board, and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants.

An active and well-established professional accountancy organization plays an essential role in promoting high quality practice in its country or jurisdiction. An important means to build strong accountancy organizations in developing countries is through collaboration and mentoring relationships with more established professional bodies. As part of its strategy to develop the accountancy profession worldwide, the International Federation of Accountants' (IFAC) Developing Nations Committee has released new guidance, entitled Mentoring Guidelines for Professional Accountancy Organizations, to support the development of collaborative and mentoring relationships between professional accountancy organizations.

The guidelines focus on supporting mentoring relationships designed to help accountancy organizations achieve compliance with IFAC's Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs). The SMOs provide benchmarks to current and potential IFAC members to assist them in ensuring high quality performance by professional accountants. They require IFAC members to promote convergence to international standards and to have in place quality assurance and disciplinary programs.

"Experience has shown that mentoring relationships between professional accountancy organizations is one of the most effective means to strengthen the profession, particularly in developing economies," states Ignatius Sehoole, Chairman of the Developing Nations Committee. "These guidelines capture the experience and good practice of many IFAC members who have participated in this type of work in the past, and the committee hopes they will encourage other IFAC members to contribute to the development of the profession."

The new Mentoring Guidelines are also intended to help professional bodies in developing countries build sustainable capacity and to facilitate the sharing of accumulated knowledge between established professional bodies and organizations at an earlier stage of development. Various stages of mentoring are outlined in the document, including considerations before setting up a relationship, involving other entities such as government and aid agencies, and managing possible risks. The guidelines also include a sample Memorandum of Understanding. 

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. IFAC is comprised of 157 members and associates in 123 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC sets international standards on ethic, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee has released a report on research into whether the proposed International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs), developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), is suitable for micro-entity financial reporting. The paper, Micro-Entity Financial Reporting: Some Empirical Evidence on the Perspectives of Preparers and Users, presents the findings of focus group interviews of users and preparers of micro-entity financial reports in Italy, Kenya, Poland, Uruguay, and the United Kingdom.

Focus group participants indicated that the current exposure draft of the IFRS for SMEs appears to be too complex for micro-entities - defined as entities with fewer than 10 employees - and suggested that relatively minor changes to the current draft might not be sufficient to address this concern. Participants who supported the development of a separate set of accounting guidance for micro-entities generally felt that two levels should be developed: a concise version that would be easy for business owners to follow and understand and a more technical version for preparers of financial statements. In addition, there was general support for some form of attestation, such as a statement made by the professional accountant, to be attached to the financial reports of micro-entities.

"The research offers some interesting insights into the views of preparers and users drawn from a small but diverse range of countries," states Sylvie Voghel, Chair of the IFAC SMP Committee. "While these countries do not constitute a globally representative sample, the research does question the suitability of the proposed IFRS for SMEs to micro-entities."

The paper was developed as part of the second phase of the SMP Committee's project on micro-entity financial reporting and follows the release in December 2006 of an information paper entitled Micro-Entity Financial Reporting: Perspectives of Preparers and Users. The findings in the new paper were considered in the development of the IFAC comment letter on the proposed IFRS for SMEs, which can be viewed online.

The following IFAC member bodies assisted in organizing focus groups: Accountants Association in Poland, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Colegio de Contadores Economistas y Administradores del Uruguay, Consiglio Nazionale Dottori Commercialisti, and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya. The research was undertaken by Dr. Suki Sian of Cardiff Business School, Wales and Professor Clare Roberts of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

The information paper can be downloaded free-of-charge from the SMP section of the IFAC online bookstore. Further information on IFAC's work to support SMPs and SMEs is available at https://www.ifac.org/smp.

For more information on the development of an IFRS for SMEs, visit the IASB's website.

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. IFAC is comprised of 158 members and associates in 118 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC establishes international standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business and those working in small and medium practices.

This paper presents the findings of focus group interviews on whether the proposed International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs), developed by the International Accounting Standards Board, is suitable for micro-entity financial reporting.

These guidelines are designed to support the development of collaborative and mentoring relationships between professional accountancy organizations.

To increase the accessibility of its guidance worldwide, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has developed a database that enables professional accountants to locate third-party translations of its pronouncements in more than 30 languages. The database features information on the languages available, publication titles, names of translating organizations and, where available, lists of translated key terms. To facilitate translation and reproduction of its pronouncements, IFAC has released the following two updated policy statements: Policy for Reproducing, or Translating and Reproducing, Publications Issued by the International Federation of Accountants; and Permission to State that the International Federation of Accountants has Considered a Translating Body's Process for Translating Standards and Guidance. These initiatives are the first of a number of ways in which IFAC is working to make its standards and guidance, especially those of its independent standard-setting boards, available to the widest international audience. This is central to IFAC’s mission of serving the public interest, promoting adherence to high quality professional standards, and furthering international convergence. The translations database and the policy statements can be accessed on the IFAC website at https://www.ifac.org/translations. Founded in 1977, 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. IFAC is comprised of 158 members and associates in 123 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC sets international standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.To increase the accessibility of its guidance worldwide, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has developed a databasethat enables professional accountants to locate third-party translations of its pronouncements in more than 30 languages. The database features information on the languages available, publication titles, names of translating organizations and, where available, lists of translated key terms. To facilitate translation and reproduction of its pronouncements, IFAC has released the following two updated policy statements:

• Policy for Reproducing, or Translating and Reproducing, Publications Issued by the International Federation of Accountants; and
• Permission to State that the International Federation of Accountants has Considered a Translating Body's Process for Translating Standards and Guidance.

These initiatives are the first of a number of ways in which IFAC is working to make its standards and guidance, especially those of its independent standard-setting boards, available to the widest international audience. This is central to IFAC’s mission of serving the public interest, promoting adherence to high quality professional standards, and furthering international convergence. The translations database and the policy statements can be accessed on the IFAC website at https://www.ifac.org/translations. Founded in 1977, 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. IFAC is comprised of 158 members and associates in 123 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC sets international standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a policy position on professional regulation of the accountancy profession in which it states that professional accountancy bodies, acting in the public interest, must play an active role in the regulation of the profession. The paper also emphasizes that effective regulation is "proportionate, transparent, implemented consistently and fairly, and subject to regular review."

Good afternoon and welcome. Thank you all for joining us today during World Accountancy Week on what is truly an occasion to celebrate: the 30th anniversary of the International Federation of Accountants. The theme for this Forum is Government, the Accountancy Profession and the Public Trust. Trust is defined as the firm hope that someone has in something or someone. Trust begins in the individual. The person needs to have confidence and be true to one’s self. Then the individual can trust his or her friends and colleagues. After that, we can create trust between the individuals and the organization and among institutions; between citizens and governments, between regulators and companies and also between governments and the accountancy profession.

Chairman, fellow professional accountants, my lords, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. It is a great pleasure to be here with you at this celebration. I would like to thank Richard Dyson, CCAB Chairman and ICAEW President, very much indeed for his introduction.

Tonight, as part of World Accountancy Week, we are joining professional accountants worldwide in celebrating the 30th anniversary of the founding of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Throughout this week, IFAC member bodies on every continent around the world are holding similar events to recognize 30 years of progress for our profession and the contributions of professional accountants to worldwide economic growth and development.

Our accountancy profession here in the United Kingdom and Ireland has very good reason to celebrate this milestone. All six CCAB members - the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy - are founding members of IFAC.