This paper is the first of four thought leadership pieces that build on a collaborative exploratory paper and global roundtable event held jointly with Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), entitled Ethical Leadership in an Era of Complexity and Digital Change. The exploratory paper, a summary of the event, and an on-demand recording are available here.

Company-reported information about sustainability factors is becoming mainstream—through increased voluntary disclosure as well as through new jurisdiction-specific rules. Investors, as well as other stakeholders, need to have trust and confidence in this information through external assurance—just like financial information.

This non-authoritative First-time Implementation Guide will help practitioners understand and implement the requirements of the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM) 2, Engagement Quality Reviews. It will help practitioners and firms successfully plan and implement the standards by the effective date, December 15, 2022.

It does not amend or override the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQMs), the texts of which alone are authoritative. Reading the publication is not a substitute for reading the ISQMs.

This non-authoritative First-time Implementation Guide may help stakeholders understand the requirements of the International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM) 1, Quality Management for Firms that Perform Audits or Reviews of Financial Statements, or Other Assurance or Related Services Engagements, and implement the standard in the manner intended.

Firms are required to have systems of quality management designed and implemented in accordance with ISQM 1 by December 15, 2022.

IFAC's new building blocks approach to reporting sustainability information enhances the previously issued roadmap, The Way Forward. With this new step, IFAC hopes to foster discussion on how this approach can deliver a global system for consistent, comparable, and assurable sustainability-related information that best meets the needs of investors and other stakeholders.

Amid a rapidly changing world, the first digital native generation is entering the workforce. This joint report from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and IFAC (the International Federation of Accountants) draws upon the responses of 9,000+ 18-25 year olds to gain insights into how Generation Z’s top concerns may influence what they want from their careers, what attracts them to organizations, and their views on accountancy, business, and the impact of COVID-19.

In March 2021, the IESBA reflected on the progress made to date on its technology Initiative, and considered next steps and timing, also recognizing the increased burdens stakeholders have shouldered as a result of the pandemic.

Click on the IESBA Update below to learn more.

A global pathway to integrated reporting assurance needs to develop to reinforce both advancements in integrated reporting and in global standard setting for corporate reporting and assurance. The International Integrated Reporting Council and IFAC’s initial thinking, outlined here, is aimed at starting a discussion with the accountancy profession and its key stakeholders on further progressing integrated reporting assurance, with the goal of enhancing confidence in integrated reporting and integrated thinking, and ultimately business resilience and sustainability.

This syllabus and competency matrix for a three-level qualification for professional accountants was developed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales under the IFAC Professional Accountancy Organization Capacity Building Program funded by the UK Aid from the UK Government. The original Russian version is also available.

The syllabus helps prepare well-rounded advisors who:

This is the fifth 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.