Globally there are 60 countries that do not have professional accountancy organizations (PAOs), and, there are an additional 93 PAOs that do not have sufficient capacity to function effectively at all levels. IFAC (The International Federation of Accountants) continues its work in providing effective guidance to PAOs for enhanced governance. Strong governance enriches PAOs’ mission and vision, resulting in improved quality of financial management systems in emerging economies.

IFAC has released a new publication, ‘Focusing on Performance’, to build awareness within the PAO community to provide guidance and encourage best governance practices and principles within their current governance arrangements. The publication also features a self-assessment tool for PAOs to utilize when reviewing their governance framework. 

IFAC continues to identify and share PAO’s governance experiences and success stories via the Global Knowledge Gateway. Visit the site now for resources and thought leadership.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) seeks between 15-20 people from around the world to advise on key challenges in assurance engagements relating to Emerging Forms of External Reporting (EER).

The Board is establishing a Project Advisory Panel (“PAP”) to support its Integrated Reporting Working Group (IRWG).

As a PAP member, successful candidates with strong experience in integrated reporting and will be an important part of the IRWG’s development of non-authoritative guidance on assurance engagements relating to emerging forms of external reporting.

The PAP will provide guidance on key challenges in assurance engagements over Emerging Forms of External Reporting (EER).

To join the panel and help shape the future of audit in an integrated reporting environment. Submit a brief profile on or before February, 2, 2018, to IAASBmeeting@iaasb.org. For more information on becoming a nominee, visit IAASB Releases Call for Nominations. And for more information on the IAASB project, visit IAASB’s Project Page.

Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) engagements provide a great opportunity for small- and medium–sized practices (SMPs) to grow, and deliver a valuable client service. IFAC (The International Federation of Accountants) has released a new publication, Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) Engagements: A Growth and Value Opportunity. The publication describes AUP engagements, when they are appropriate, and, identifies key client benefits. It also covers examples of financial and non-financial information AUP engagements and provides six short case studies with example procedures that might be applied.

Nominating Committee encourages all stakeholders—including the public—to nominate diverse candidates with strong leadership skills to serve the public interest and contribute to the work of the independent standard-setting boards.

See the Call for Nominations for more information, including available positions and requirements. Nominate via the Nominations Database by February 15, 2018. 

The excitement is building and registration is now open for the world’s largest gathering of accountants: the World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) 2018 in Sydney, Australia, November 5-8, 2018.

Held in the new International Convention Centre on the world-famous Sydney harbor and co-hosted by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and CPA Australia, the 20^th WCOA promises to be the biggest and most exciting congress yet.

IFAC’s member organizations have always played an important role in telling millions of professional accountants about the importance of WCOA. For WCOA 2018, that role has never been easier.

From now until the congress starts in Sydney next November, our member organizations will have access to innovative, regularly-updated multi-media tools and content including: press releases, social media content, news updates, videos, and photos.

IFAC members will be able to access these materials after subscribing to the WCOA newsletter for regular updates. In the coming weeks, you will receive the newsletter and information on how to set up an account and password to start utilizing the WCOA Brandfolder.

The WCOA 2018 program will explore a range of key themes, including:

• protecting the public interest and building prosperity;
• addressing the leadership challenge;
• embracing disruptive technologies and innovation;
• enhancing ethics and integrity; and
• exploring sustainable solutions to business, social enterprises, and economies.

ACCA and one of Australia’s leading universities, RMIT, are WCOA 2018’s debut sponsors but there are many additional sponsorship opportunities available. 

Highlights from the IESBA's December 4 - 8, 2017 meeting in Livingstone, Zambia.

• 00:13 - Introduction: Ken Siong, IESBA Technical Director
• 00:50 - Highlights & Key Developments: Stavros Thomadakis, IESBA Chairman
• 03:07 - Part C of the IESBA Code: Helene Agelii, IESBA Member 
• 05:04 - Professional Skepticism – Richard Fleck, IESBA Deputy Chair 
• 08:08 - Safeguards: Gary Hannaford, IESBA Member 
• 12:11 - Structure of the IESBA Code, Don Thomson, Task Force Chair and former IESBA Member 
• 14:26 - Closing Remarks: Ken Siong, IESBA Technical Director

 A new publication has been developed under the IFAC Professional Accountancy Organization (PAO) Capacity Building Program, currently funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The guide will enable PAOs to develop information and communication technology (ICT) roadmaps that meet the individual needs of each PAO based on their infrastructure, level of development, regulatory obligations, and number of stakeholders, as well as consider external and environmental factors that may impact ICT planning.

The IFAC PAO Capacity Building Program supports the development and growth of PAOs around the world. By working with IFAC’s global stakeholders—PAOs, international donors, the international development community, and others—the Program works to solve the global need for growth and development of the accountancy profession, all in support of the public interest.

Update: The IESBA has extended their deadline to March 1, 2018 to give stakeholders an extra month to respond to their Fees Questionnaire. 

The International Ethics Standards Board of Accountants (IEBSA) recently opened a public survey to seek individual views about the level of fees charged by audit firms. The survey seeks views and information from stakeholders: investors and other users of financial statements, the corporate governance community, the regulatory and audit oversight community, preparers, firms, national standard setters, IFAC member organizations, academics, and others.

The IESBA is exploring a number of matters related to fees charged by firms to investigate whether there is a need for further enhancements to the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants or to commission of staff guidance. This survey is part of the IESBA’s fact finding efforts and the responses will help inform the IESBA’s consideration of the relevant matters.

Respondents are asked to submit their completed PDF questionnaires via the IESBA website, using the “Submit a Comment” link. Completed questionnaires are requested by  March 1, 2018 

Following September's web meeting, the Professional Accountants in Business Committee published a meeting summary report, Professional Accountants as Business Partners and Value Enablers.

The report shares the collective knowledge, ideas, and experience of the committee regarding the role of professional accountants as business leaders and value enablers for organizations, examining:

• Enterprise Performance Management;
• The Role of Finance Leaders and Business Partners in Technology;
• Effective Accountant Involvement in Risk Management;
• Creating and Communicating Value through Integrated Reporting and Thinking;
• PAO Support Tools;
• Audit Quality and Audit Committee Effectiveness; and
• Professional Skepticism

IFAC and the Committee are working to drive forward the major initiatives covered in the report. Professional accountancy organizations’ support and input into these initiatives is requested and most welcome. To achieve their mission and objectives, most IFAC member organizations continue to focus on the success of their members working in business and the public sector. However, it is important to continue raising the bar and learning from others so that their membership have the skills they need throughout their careers. In this fast changing world, ongoing skill and competency acquisition and development is more important than ever. Relevance is critical to the reputation of both individual members and their PAOs.

The IFAC accountants in business agenda addresses the areas of opportunity and risk for the profession in the 21st Century, while also enhancing the attractiveness of the profession. The accountancy profession needs to continually ensure our skills and competency remain relevant and support effective business partnership. 

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)’s Group Audits Task Force has issued a Project Update. The Project Update outlines the issues under consideration in the revised International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 600, Special Considerations‒Audits of Group Financial Statements, and other projects that address additional international standards. This includes: ISA 220, Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements, and International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) 1, Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements. The Project Update also explains the linkages between these projects as they relate to group audit issues.

Key Takeaways

• ISA 600 deals with special considerations that apply in audits of group financial statements (group audits). Many of the requirements of ISA 600 are, therefore, drafted in the context of requirements in other standards. The IAASB recognizes that there is a strong linkage between the IAASB’s work to clarify and strengthen ISA 600 and the projects to revise other standards, in particular ISQC 1, ISA 220, and ISA 315 (Revised).
• Some foundational issues to be dealt with in the ISA 600 revisions need to be first considered and addressed in these other projects, i.e., such that the Group Audits Task Force can appropriately build on the revised requirements and application material in making necessary revisions to ISA 600.
• The Group Audits Task Force is working cooperatively with the task forces responsible for the revisions of ISQC 1, ISA 220, and ISA 315 (Revised) and providing input as proposed revisions to these standards progress. This interaction with the other task forces will enable the Group Audits Task Force to be well positioned to reflect the revisions to these other standards in the context of ISA 600, and provide the additional context of the special considerations relevant to their application to group audits.