Professional accountants make a significant contribution to the economy at the local, national and global levels. IFAC partnered with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), one of the world’s leading economics consultancies, to get a clearer understanding of these contributions.
In each measure reviewed, a greater number of accountants correlates to better economic performance. Moreover, professional accountants who are members of IFAC member professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) correlate to even stronger performance on economic indicators.
“At IFAC, we have always understood the strong connection between a well-developed accountancy profession and economic development,” said Kevin Dancey, IFAC CEO. “This research will help policymakers around the world have better informed conversations with professional accountants and PAOs about their contributions to society and potential partnerships for development and growth.”
Cebr’s analysis reviewed the accountancy profession in the G20 countries, including each individual country of the European Union. Data was assembled from a range of sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, to establish relationships between economic variables and numbers of accountants and PAO members.
This research follows earlier projects on the positive contributions of the accountancy profession:
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 more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
IFAC Membership Unlocks Accountancy’s Full Potential
Professional accountants make a significant contribution to the economy at the local, national and global levels. In each measure reviewed, a greater number of accountants correlates to better economic performance. Moreover, professional accountants who are members of IFAC member professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) correlate to even stronger performance on the economic indicators.
This is the second installment of a 6-month publication series titled Anti-Money Laundering, The Basics.
The series provides professional accountants with a better understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest.
This is the tenth installment of a 12-month publication series titled Exploring the IESBA Code. This installment addresses Pressure to Breach the Fundamental Principles.
The publication is part of a 6-month short series helping professional accountants enhance their understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest. The series, with its focus on accessibility and ease of use, will be a resource for Small and Medium Practices (SMPs,) and accountants less familiar with AML, while also providing guidance for those looking for a quick refresher or reference.
“Fighting money laundering—a key priority of IFAC—allows millions of professional accountants worldwide to make a real difference for the public good every day.” said Scott Hanson, Principal, Public Policy & Regulation at IFAC. “Events like the recent FinCEN leaks serve as another timely reminder of the importance of remaining vigilant on this important issue.”
Sophie Wales, Director, Technical Strategy, Tax, Ethics and Law Group, at ICAEW, said: “We are pleased to launch this new educational series with IFAC, which we hope will help chartered accountants improve their understanding of money laundering. Accountants are the gatekeepers to the financial system and play a crucial role in identifying the red flags when it comes to economic crime, so it’s vital we do what we can to ensure criminals can’t find someone else to clean their dirty money.”
Anti-Money Laundering: The Basics will be featured on both the IFAC and ICAEW websites and available for download for free. To be globally relevant, the series uses the risk-based approach of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog – as a starting point.
This is the first installment of a 6-month publication series titled Anti-Money Laundering, The Basics.
The series provides professional accountants with a better understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest.
