Mr. David Wray became a member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants in January 2024. He became a member of the ICAEW Ethics Standards Committee in June 2025.

Mr. Wray most recently worked as a Senior Director of Accounting & Reporting at Huawei Global Finance. He previously held several finance executive roles in the technology industry. Mr. Wray serves as a Board Member for the International CFO Alliance (ICFOA) as well as its Chair of ESG. He also serves as the President for the DFCG's International Group and is an Executive Member of the DFCG National Board. He holds technical and sustainability advisory roles with various organizations in France, the US, UK, and South Africa.

Mr. Wray is currently serving on the jury for the Ethics & Trust in Finance 10^th Global prize.

Mr. Wray is the author of The Power of Potential and has published several articles, and spoken publicly, on the connectivity of sustainability and finance, data management, governance, leadership and the future of finance.

Mr. Wray earned an MBA in 2008 from Athabasca University (Canada) and is a member of ICAEW (UK) and CPA Canada and CPA Ontario (Canada).

Tomoyo Imura became a member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants in January 2024. She was nominated by the Japanese Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Ms. Imura is the Director, Member of the Board and Member of the Audit and Supervisory Committee of Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. (NAM), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings Incorporated since April 2023. NAM is the largest asset management company in Japan, investing in major listed companies not only in Japan but also globally.

Ms. Imura received a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature at Japan Women's University in Japan. She is a Certified Member Analyst of Securities Analysts Association of Japan.

Amarjeet Singh became a member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants in January 2024. 

Mr. Singh is a Whole-time Member at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). With a career spanning nearly 3 decades with SEBI, he has extensive experience in the development and regulation of the Indian securities markets. He has been instrumental in introducing various market reforms and led SEBI's engagements on sustainability reporting and the conceptualization and formation of Social Stock Exchange in India.

Apart from representing SEBI on several Committees set up by government and RBI, he has served on the Boards of National Financial Reporting Authority and Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, and currently serves on the Board of National Institute of Securities Market. He has been involved in numerous international regulatory initiatives, including that of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). As Chair of the Assessment Committee of IOSCO (2016-2018) and member of its various policy committees, he has steered international thematic assessments and contributed to the evolution of IOSCO Principles and Standards.

Apart from an MBA, Mr. Singh holds a Master's degree in Economic Policy Management from Columbia University, NY, USA.

At its December Board meeting, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (“IESBA”) successfully completed and approved an Exposure Draft on Ethics and Independence Standards for Sustainability Reporting and Assurance and the final Ethics Standard for Tax Planning and Related Services. Other major achievements of the IESBA December Board meeting include the approval of an Exposure Draft on the Use of Experts and of the IESBA’s Strategy and Work Plan for 2024-2027.

Commitment to Trustworthy Sustainability Reporting and Assurance

The IESBA voted and approved the proposed new International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (including International Independence Standards) (“IESSA”), and proposed revisions to the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (“the Code”) on sustainability reporting. The Exposure Draft will contain proposed independence standards for use by all sustainability assurance practitioners regardless of whether they are professional accountants, and specific ethics provisions relevant to sustainability reporting and assurance. This milestone completes more than 18 months of intensive fact-finding, outreach, and drafting efforts by the IESBA Board and staff.

The result is a set of draft standards that will establish the essential third pillar of ethics, including independence, standards to support public and corporate trust in sustainability-related information, alongside sustainability reporting and assurance standards. The IESBA intends to release the Exposure Draft in late January 2024.

Using the Work of External Experts

The IESBA approved proposed ethics provisions addressing the use of external experts by organizations as well as in the context of audit and assurance engagements, including sustainability assurance engagements. Professional accountants and sustainability assurance practitioners will be guided by an ethical framework to evaluate the competence, capabilities, and objectivity of external experts. These provisions will thereby help meet public expectations concerning ethical behavior when using external experts, especially in an audit or assurance context.

Strengthening Ethical Behavior in Tax Planning

The IESBA also approved final revisions to the Code to address tax planning and related services. These revisions respond to heightened public concerns about ethical behavior in tax planning in light of high-profile revelations about tax avoidance schemes in several jurisdictions in recent years. The final provisions establish an ethical framework in the public interest to guide professional accountants in making judgments and decisions when providing tax planning or related services. Pending certification by the Public Interest Oversight Board (“PIOB”), the final pronouncement is expected to be issued by mid-April 2024.

Strategy and Work Plan 2024-2027

The IESBA voted to approve its Strategy and Work Plan (“SWP”) for 2024-2027. Among other matters, the IESBA will tackle two new ambitious strategic areas of focus: accountancy firm culture and governance, and extending the impact of the Code beyond the accountancy profession, where it believes it can significantly expand reach and business impact.

Throughout 2023, the IESBA has responded vigorously to the challenges of ethics in the accountancy profession and beyond. The IESBA’s 2024 agenda will focus on final approvals of the sustainability-related  standards, as well as on new workstreams addressing accountancy firm culture and governance, and independence considerations regarding the audits of collective investment vehicles, pension fund arrangements, and investment company complexes.

“The global shift of governments, companies, and investors towards a more sustainable future will not happen with good intentions and soft targets,” said IESBA Chair Gabriela Figueiredo Dias. “This movement will require hard ethics to realize sustainability goals and mitigate the risks of wrongdoing. The IESBA’s new and proposed revisions to the Code and the Board’s strategy will help ensure that professional accountants and other sustainability assurance practitioners adopt the necessary ethical approaches to foster transparency, relevance, and public trust within the reporting sphere while supporting global sustainability efforts.”

About IESBA

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants serves the public interest by setting high-quality ethics standards, including independence requirements, as a cornerstone to ethical behavior in business and organizations, and to public trust in financial and non-financial information that is fundamental to the proper functioning and sustainability of organizations, financial markets and economies worldwide.

Along with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (“IAASB”), the IESBA is part of the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit (“IFEA”). The Public Interest Oversight Board (“PIOB”) oversees IESBA and IAASB activities and the public interest responsiveness of the standards.

For more information about IESBA, please visit www.ethicsboard.org and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/iesba.

The Public Interest Oversight Board’s (PIOB) Standard-Setting Boards Nominations Committee has opened the Invitation for Application for upcoming vacancies on the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) for terms beginning January 1, 2025. The application period is open until February 9, 2024.

The Invitation for Application is extended to experienced individuals from diverse backgrounds wishing to contribute to setting high-quality, international ethics (including independence) standards on behalf of the public interest. In the current cycle, there are six vacancies to be filled from January 1, 2025, including potential re-appointments of five members. Applications are welcome from candidates from all sectors and constituencies, including investors, the corporate governance community, regulatory, oversight and policy-making bodies, national standard setters, preparers and practitioners, professional accountancy organizations, public and non-profit sectors, and academia. A parallel Invitation for Application was issued for the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), with a concurrent deadline of February 9, 2024.

These openings offer seasoned professionals from diverse backgrounds a chance to actively shape the IESBA's dynamic, multi-stakeholder environment. Successful candidates will play pivotal roles in maintaining the integrity of global financial markets and economies by contributing to the development of robust ethics (including independence) standards.

For additional information on IESBA or IAASB nominations, please see the PIOB’s nominations web page or email SSBNominations@ipiob.org.

The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released a questions and answers (Q&A) publication on the pronouncement Revisions to the Code Relating to the Definition of Engagement Team and Group Audits. The revisions to the Code address holistically the various independence considerations in an audit of group financial statements. The revisions also deal with the independence and other implications of the changes to the definition of an engagement team in the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code) to align with changes to the definition of the same term in the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and International Standards on Quality Management (ISQMs).

The Q&A publication is designed to highlight, illustrate, or explain aspects of the revisions in the Code and is intended to complement the Basis for Conclusions for the final pronouncement. It will assist firms, national standards setters, and professional accountancy organizations in adopting and/or implementing the revisions. The Q&As will also assist regulators and audit oversight bodies, the corporate governance community, investors, preparers, educational bodies or institutions, and other stakeholders in understanding the revisions to the Code. 

The development of the Q&As has been informed by the IESBA’s extensive discussions and consultations with a wide range of stakeholders and the IESBA’s own deliberations during the development and finalization of the pronouncement.

The pronouncement is coming into effect for audits of financial statements and group financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2023, with early adoption permitted.

This Q&A publication is designed to highlight, illustrate, or explain aspects of the Code's recent revisions that holistically address the various independence considerations in an audit of group financial statements and is intended to complement the Basis for Conclusions for the final pronouncement.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released the 2023 Handbook of the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards). This handbook replaces the 2022 edition and incorporates the following revisions:

• The revisions relating to (a) the definition of engagement team, and (b) group audits. The revisions deal with the independence and other implications of the changes made to the definition of “engagement team” in the Code to align with changes to the definition of the same term in the IAASB’s International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and International Standards on Quality Management (ISQMs). The revisions also address holistically the various independence considerations in an audit of group financial statements. The revised provisions relating to the definition of engagement team and group audits will be effective for audits of financial statements and audits of group financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2023. Early adoption of the revisions is encouraged.
• The upcoming expiry of the “jurisdictional provision” addressing long association of personnel with an audit client.  The jurisdictional provision will expire and be no longer available for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2023. Under the jurisdictional provision (paragraph R540.20 of the Code), where a legislative or regulatory body (or organization authorized or recognized by such legislative or regulatory body) has established a cooling-off period for an engagement partner of less than five consecutive years, that shorter cooling-off period may be applied, subject to a floor of three years, provided that the applicable time-on period does not exceed seven years.

The back of the 2023 Handbook contains the IESBA-approved revisions to the Code, which are not yet effective. These revisions will become effective in December 2024 and include:

• Revisions to the definition of a public interest entity (PIE).
• Changes to the definitions of “audit client” and “group audit client” in the Glossary arising from the approved revisions to the definitions of listed entity and PIE.
• The technology-related revisions.

Click here to learn more about the IESBA Code.

Reproducing and Translating the IESBA Handbook
To help adoption and implementation of the IESBA standards, stakeholders are invited to submit requests for permission to reproduce or translate the IESBA Handbook online via the Online Permissions Requests or Inquiries system on the IFAC website.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is an independent global standard-setting board. The IESBA’s mission is to serve the public interest by setting high-quality, international ethics (including independence) standards as a cornerstone to ethical behavior in business and organizations, and to public trust in financial and non-financial information that is fundamental to the proper functioning and sustainability of organizations, financial markets and economies worldwide.

Along with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, the IESBA is part of the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit. The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) oversees IESBA and IAASB activities and the public interest responsiveness of the standards. 

This 2023 edition contains recently approved revisions to the Code, including: