The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) congratulates the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance on the announcement today of the launch of a new Code of Ethics and Independence for Auditors in Italy. This new Italian Code of Ethics (Codice italiano di etica e indipendenza dei revisori legali dei conti), which is based off IESBA’s International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code) with specific adaptations and localizations for compatibility and operability with the Italian and European regulatory frameworks, replaces the country’s previous code of ethics, adopted in 2018.
“On behalf of IESBA, I applaud the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance for this important commitment to ethics and independence, and to the public interest,” said Gabriela Figueiredo Dias, IESBA Chair, who was invited to speak at the announcement event in Rome today. “This code will provide statutory auditors with a stronger ethics and independence framework, significantly elevating the ethical bar for an important group of professionals who are formally provided with public faith in reviewing financial statements and whose work is, therefore, critical to create trust in corporate information and to support sound business relations and a well-functioning economic system.”
The IESBA Code places a responsibility on all professional accountants to act in the public interest. The strength and global acceptance of the Code are evident as it has been adopted or is used in over 130 jurisdictions, translated into about 40 languages, and adopted by the 34 largest international networks of accounting firms for transnational audits.
Congratulations to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) for achieving a major milestone today, releasing its #sustainability-related disclosure standards S1 and S2! These new standards establish a holistic framework that will drive greater consistency, accuracy, and comparability in sustainability information disclosures at a global level.
IESBA believes strong reporting and assurance standards must work under the umbrella of equally strong #ethics standards to foster public confidence in sustainability information. Therefore, to complement the achievements of the ISSB and the new sustainability assurance standards being developed by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), IESBA is on track to develop robust ethics and independence standards on #sustainabilityreporting and assurance that can be used by all sustainability information preparers and assurance practitioners worldwide.
As the global voice of the accountancy profession, IFAC has long supported the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures, endorsed by IOSCO, and used around the world. The goal is a global system for consistent, comparable, reliable, and assurable sustainability information that can be complemented by local standards or broader public policy needs.
With today’s release of its first two standards, the ISSB has answered stakeholders’ calls to move with pace, to focus on the needs of investors and capital markets, and to build upon existing and respected frameworks and standards.
IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey said, “In one sense, the finalization of S1 and S2 by the ISSB marks the beginning of the work to be done by the accountancy profession. All professional accountants—whether working in business, as preparers or auditors, or serving as leaders of professional accountancy organizations—must now advocate for and implement these standards so that high-quality corporate reporting of sustainability-related information becomes a reality. The ongoing work of the IAASB and IESBA will bring trust and confidence through high-quality—and hopefully mandatory—assurance.”
“To that end, IFAC calls on the global accountancy profession to work with local regulators and stakeholders to support the adoption of ISSB standards, to help build capacity for their implementation alongside any local complementary reporting requirements, and to continue to contribute our expertise and feedback to the ISSB as its important standard setting work continues.”
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.
Issues urgent call for global accountancy profession to drive adoption and use of standards
