To make information about its activities more accessible to a global audience, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has translated core portions of its website (www.ifac.org) into Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish. These languages, in addition to English, which is IFAC's official language, are the official languages of the United Nations.
Translated sections of the IFAC website include the home page, information about the organization, its structure, governance and membership, as well as key information about IFAC's independent auditing, ethics, education, and public sector accounting standard-setting boards. In addition, the home pages for IFAC's resource centers for professional accountants in business and small and medium practices have been translated.
"These translations mark a major milestone in IFAC's 30-year history," states IFAC President Fermín del Valle. "If we are truly going to meet our goal of developing the accountancy profession around the world, we need to provide as many members of the profession as possible with information in their native languages. This initiative is also central to our goal of achieving convergence."
"The translations of the IFAC website involved a strong collaborative effort between IFAC and its member bodies," emphasizes IFAC CEO Ian Ball. "The assistance of our member bodies contributed substantially to the accuracy and appropriateness of the translations."
The organizations extensively involved in the translations were:
- The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Chinese translations);
- Délégation Internationale pour l'Audit et la Comptabilité, the international arm of the Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes and the Conseil Supérieur de l'Ordre des Experts-Comptables (French translations);
- Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España (Spanish translations); and
- Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (Arabic translations).
Comments on IFAC's website are welcomed at any time and may be submitted online at http://www.ifac.org/Feedback/.
About IFAC
Founded in 1977, 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 155 members and associates in 118 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC sets ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting standards. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.