The Nominating Committee identifies and recommends candidates with the best qualifications to fill a variety of volunteer roles. These roles include the president, deputy president, members of the IFAC Board, and chairs, deputy chairs, and members of the IFAC committees, as well as members of the public interest activity committees (which include the independent standard-setting boards).

Transparency is fundamental to the Nominating Committee's processes. Each year, the Nominating Committee issues a Call for Nominations for vacancies on the boards and committees. Nominations for the independent standard-setting boards may be submitted by all stakeholders, including international organizations, governmental agencies, self-nominations by the general public, as well as IFAC  member bodies and the Forum of Firms. Nominations for the IFAC Board and IFAC committees may be submitted by IFAC member bodies only.

The Nominating Committee makes recommendations to the IFAC Board and Council, which makes the appointments. The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) approves the appointments to the International Accounting Education Standards Board, International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants, and the Compliance Advisory Panel (collectively referred to as the Public Interest Activity Committees). The PIOB also approves the appointment of the non-ex-officio members of the Nominating Committee. The PIOB has the right to observe and speak at Nominating Committee meetings in which the recommendations are developed.

In addition to the best candidate for the job, the Nominating Committee seeks a broad regional and professional representation, gender balance, and candidates from countries with different levels of economic development.

Call for Nominations

Each year, the Nominating Committee issues a formal Call for Nominations for vacancies on the boards and committees.

The volunteer members of the boards and committees are central to their effective functioning. Volunteers contribute mainly through active participation in meetings, task forces, and working groups, and are committed to acting in the public interest.

The Call for Nominations serves as a prospectus for all stakeholders, including international organizations, governmental agencies, and the general public, as well as IFAC member organizations and the Forum of Firms, and sets out the upcoming opportunities for membership on the boards and committees. The Call provides information on relevant membership qualifications, offers guidance for developing a nominations strategy and selecting optimal candidates, and outlines the required time commitment and performance expectations for volunteers. In addition, the Call explains the Nominating Committee’s selection process.

Nominations for new members and re-nominations for current members can be submitted online from January 15 to March 15 of each year. Nominations submitted after March 15 will be reviewed at the discretion of the Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee submits its recommendations to the IFAC Board for approval in September. Some appointments also require the approval of the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) in September, or election or approval by the IFAC Council in November.

Developing a Nominations Strategy

The guide, Developing a Nominations Strategy, is designed to provide all stakeholders with a greater understanding of how they can make the right nominations given the current needs of each board and committee.

In many cases, the Nominating Committee seeks candidates with a certain combination of skills and attributes given a particular board’s or committee’s current work plan, objectives, and membership composition. In this sense, the Nominating Committee seeks not only regional, gender, and professional balance, but also seeks to address the changing demands of each board and committee.

There are 155 positions on the boards and committees. Each year, approximately 50 positions come up for rotation; for some of these positions, the current member can be re-nominated for a second term. The Nominating Committee generally receives more than 150 nominations for these vacancies. In order to nominate candidates with the objective of effective participation, we recommend the following approach.

• Assess the vacancies on each board and committee.
• Develop a list of potential candidates for prospective board and committee positions.
• Pre-screen the candidates to ensure that they have the optimal background, skills, and interests for membership of a particular board or committee and that they can make the necessary time commitment to serve on a board or committee.
• Assess which candidates correspond to specific vacancies by learning about the environmental issues, strategic plans, and current projects of the particular boards and committees.
• Position your candidate(s) for the Nominating Committee.

For a complete discussion of this process, please see:

 Developing a Nominations Strategy