Viewpoints: Governance, Accountability and the Public Trust

This area features a wide range of articles, speeches, reports, and commentaries on various aspects of governance and financial reporting developed by international regulators, standard setters, accountancy bodies, research organizations, and trade and industry groups. The documents have been collected as part of the work of the IFAC Task Force on Rebuilding Public Confidence in Financial Reporting, which is developing recommendations on improving the credibility of financial statements.

The information is posted in six categories:

• Global Perspectives -- Information on a wide range of governance issues categorized by country.
• Public Policy and Regulation -- Statements and positions submitted by regulatory and policy making bodies from around the world.
• The Governance Process: Roles and Responsibilities -- Papers and speeches on the roles of corporate management, boards of directors, audit committees, and auditors and others involved in the governance process.
• Financial Reporting -- Research and other materials on the financial reporting model and specific principles and rules.
• Auditing Issues -- Papers and commentaries on the changing role of auditors and key audit issues, such as scope of services, will be found in this section.
• Ethics -- Best practices for codes of ethics for professional accountants and commentaries on ethics in business.

The documents posted in this section of the IFAC web site do not reflect the views of IFAC, its leadership or staff. They are provided as a public service to individuals and organizations concerned about issues pertaining to corporate governance and the credibility of financial statements and corporate disclosure.