In late July, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) opened a six-month public consultation on its landmark new proposed standard for audits of financial statements of less complex entities (LCEs).

While the IAASB encourages all interested stakeholders to respond to the consultation in writing, it recognizes that some may not have the time or resources to do so. To help, the International Federation of Accountants and the IAASB developed a survey to offer an alternative way to participate in the consultation and provide your views. The survey is open until January 14, 2022 and is available in English, French and Spanish by clicking the language selector in the survey’s top right corner.

Survey responses will be analyzed by the IAASB alongside all other feedback and help shape the final standard; individual survey responses are confidential.

IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group has compiled insights on how accountants are contributing to value creation and sustainability in their organizations in both the private and public sectors in a new report, The Role of Accountants in Mainstreaming Sustainability.  

This report includes highlights from the PAIB Advisory Group’s October 2021 meeting, including: 

• Achieving sustainability and decarbonization under the stewardship of CFOs and accountants 
• Navigating potentially disruptive transitions by investing in technology, innovation, talent, and partnerships  
• Optimizing and capturing value for a range of stakeholders 
• PAIB perspective on digital assets and cryptocurrencies 

Sanjay Rughani, IFAC PAIB Advisory Group Chair says: “The need for CFOs and finance functions to contribute strategically as value partners is increasing to advance sustainability. By sharing our learnings as a profession, we can continue to elevate our focus and actions on higher value activities to support and empower professional accountants to take on more strategic roles.” 

Access the report and related case studies.  

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the voice of the global accountancy profession, this week announced its new board members, and that it is maintaining a female-majority board for the third consecutive year in a row. Over the course of the past decade, IFAC is proud to have improved the gender balance on its key governing bodies.

The new and reappointed IFAC Board members and their nominating member organizations are:

New appointments:

• Gregory Anton (Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, USA)
• Tashia Batstone (Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, Canada)
• Jeanine Poggiolini (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, South Africa)

Reappointments:

• Lisa Padmore (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados, Barbados)
• Margret Pétursdóttir (Nordic Federation of Public Accountants, Iceland)
• Dr. Jianhua Tang (Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants, China)
• Ayşe Arıak Tunaboylu (Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants of Turkey / Expert Accountants' Association of Turkey, Turkey)

New IFAC Member Organizations Admitted

In addition to the election of new Board members, the IFAC Council also approved new members and associate member organizations.

New IFAC Members:

• Institut Akuntan Publik Indonesia (IAPI) – Indonesia
• Vietnam Association of Certified Public Accountants (VACPA) – Vietnam

New Associates:

• United Arab Emirates Accountants and Auditors Association (UAE AAA) – United Arab Emirates
• Yemeni Association of Certified Public Accountants (YACPA) – Yemen

The new appointments, reappointments and membership decisions were approved at IFAC’s 2021 Council meeting, held virtually on November 10-11.

We are firmly in an age of disruption. No matter what the “new normal” looks like, it will not look that way for long.

To anticipate events—as a society and as a profession—we need to see them as the effects of simultaneous and dynamic trends. The climate crisis and digitalization are accelerating at the same time; the effects of each trend will influence the other, and in turn, shape and re-shape our lives, livelihoods, and environment. The same could be said of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the next public health emergency—and the one after that.

Today, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) unveiled a new online resource providing unprecedented access to the international standards that support and distinguish the accountancy profession. eIS, short for e-International Standards, provides direct access to the standards developed by the International Audit and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB), alongside key support, reference, and guidance materials, available to contextualize the language and provide enhanced transparency.

“Rooted in our commitment to the public interest, this platform responds to stakeholder needs by making international standards and their accompanying resources accessible and easy to use,” said Kevin Dancey, CEO of IFAC. “As we continue to focus on modern approaches and the use of technology to enhance our profession, the development of eIS was a natural next step in supporting our members around the world, and the 3.5 million professional accountants they represent.”

IFAC worked together with the standard-setting boards to develop a better way to access the standards. Through surveys and conversations with key stakeholders, IFAC identified the key elements required to deliver a modern platform allowing the profession easier access to international standards, while providing enhanced functionality in how the standards are used.

eIS features include:

• a responsive design that can be used on mobile, tablet and desktop;
• advanced and intuitive search capabilities;
• easy access to related resources;
• easy pop-up access to references;
• version control functionality; and
• easy-to-navigate pages with multiple viewing modes.

Learn more about eIS here or visit the platform today: eis.international-standards.org

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. IFAC is comprised of 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), which comprises 180 member and associate organizations and represents over 3 million professional accountants globally, welcomes the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) working in close cooperation with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), under the governance structure and leadership of the IFRS Foundation.

IFAC congratulates the IFRS Foundation Trustees for moving with unprecedented speed to meet the needs of investors, provide a holistic view of enterprise value, and address the climate crisis. Climate and other sustainability issues are global in nature and the ISSB will deliver a global solution for sustainability disclosure. The multi-jurisdictional footprint of the ISSB reflects this realty and can hopefully facilitate implementation of the ISSB’s standards.

IFAC also welcomes commitments to combine the CDSB and Value Reporting Foundation with the IFRS Foundation—providing much needed consolidation and contributing support and resources toward the success of the new ISSB. This positions the ISSB to build upon the high-quality work of existing sustainability-related initiatives and harmonize the standard-setting landscape—delivering a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability information material to enterprise value, connected to financial reporting through the fundamental concepts and guiding principles of integrated reporting.

“Now is the time for policymakers around the world to focus on how to capitalize on the forthcoming work of the ISSB,” said IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey. “As with the success of IFRS Standards for financial reporting, IOSCO’s support is key. Jurisdictions around the world need to take the next step—deciding to use, implement, and enforce IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards as part of a Building Blocks Approach that will deliver the global baseline for sustainability-related reporting needed for investors and capital markets.”

This approach enables global standards set by the ISSB—compatible with any multistakeholder-focused disclosures that some jurisdictions may require—to result in consistent, comparable, and assurable sustainability-related information that enhances corporate reporting.

IFAC urges its member organizations to support this initiative and engage now, at the local level, to help make new global standards into local reporting requirements.

Read more about IFAC’s support for global sustainability-related standards on the IFAC website.

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. IFAC is comprised of 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

МФБ призывает «Группу двадцати» сосредоточить внимание на двух ключевых действиях - в которых глобальная бухгалтерская профессия является твердым партнером, - которые продвинут иглу в направлении устойчивости, инклюзивности и процветания.

L'IFAC appelle le G20 à se concentrer sur deux actions clés, où la profession comptable mondiale est un partenaire fortement engagé, qui feront avancer les choses en matière de durabilité, d'inclusivité et de prospérité.

As the global voice of the accountancy profession, IFAC releases Points of View (POVs) on key policy issues impacting the accounting profession and the whole of society. These POVs are well-researched tools available for anyone to use in gaining an understanding of crucial topics affecting our world and potentially influencing policies that affect us all.

To make its POVs more accessible to its global constituency and their stakeholders, IFAC has published all seven of its POVs, originally only available in English, into four additional languages: Arabic, French, Russian, and Spanish.

"From improving public sector transparency with data-driven decisions to providing investors with high-quality and trustworthy sustainability information, these POVs cover a broad range of topics of critical importance to professional accountants worldwide,” said Kevin Dancey, IFAC CEO. “These translations will improve the ability of professional accountants to make an impact in their companies and jurisdictions.”

The topics covered in the POVs are:

Enhancing Corporate Reporting: Corporate reporting should capture all relevant information about organizations. However, investors and other stakeholders are demanding more, higher-quality information and insights about company performance, risks, opportunities, and long-term prospects, especially with respect to sustainability-related matters, than are available from the conventional financial reporting process.

Greater Transparency and Accountability in the Public Sector: This POV explores how governments can use the resources they have to have to make informed, data-driven decisions with strong governance and public financial management (PFM) and how the accountancy profession can work with the public sector to help deliver a more sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous future for all. 

Embracing a People-Centered Profession: The accountancy profession is first and foremost a profession made of people—individuals and teams working collaboratively and collectively. This POV explores the connection between the people in the accountancy profession, the core components of the profession (education, professional judgment, ethics, values) and the profession’s commitment to the public interest.

Maintaining Trust & Confidence During a Crisis: Maintaining trust and confidence during a crisis is the fastest path to recovery after a crisis. This POV explores the key roles that regulators, the global accounting profession and those charged with governance have to play in maintaining trust.

Achieving High-Quality Audits: High-quality audits of financial statements are essential to strong, sustainable organizations, financial markets and economies. All participants in the audit and assurance ecosystem must act to improve the audit process, and we outline how.

Climate Action: Climate change is an urgent, global, and systemic issue that can threaten the sustainability of organizations, markets, and economies. This POV outlines how to embrace climate action and be part of the solution.

Fighting Corruption and Money Laundering: The consequences of corruption are significant and widespread, from direct costs to individuals and society, to encouraging criminal behavior and undermining trust in institutions. Grounded in a strong ethical code, professional accountants across the globe play a critical role in the fight against corruption.

Access the POVs here in each language.

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. IFAC is comprised of 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.