1. PAIB Committee Releases Proposed Guidance on Effective Business Reporting Processes

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee has released Eleven Principles for Effective Business Reporting Processes for public comment. The proposed guidance seeks to establish a benchmark for good practice in implementing effective business reporting processes in organizations. It will also help professional accountants in business and their organizations create a cycle of continuous improvement for their business reporting processes thereby assisting stakeholders in making better informed decisions. The comment period closes on August 23, 2012.

2. IESBA Seeks Feedback from Organization Directors, Governance Professionals

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has released a new survey on its proposals to strengthen the framework for a breach of an independence requirement. IESBA is seeking feedback from organization directors, audit committee members, and those charged with governance.

3. Good Practice Checklist Published by SMP Committee

The IFAC Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee has published the Good Practice Checklist for Small Business, a multi-part checklist featuring standalone sections on financial tasks, strategic management tasks, and regulatory requirements, among others. The checklist can be used by small businesses to determine what business advice they may need from an SMP as a diagnostic tool to help them determine the advice a small business client may need.

The SMP Committee has also opened its May/June 2012 IFAC SMP Quick Poll to take a snapshot of the key issues facing SMPs and their small- and medium-sized entity clients. The poll is available in 15 languages and should only take three minutes to complete. Polling will close on June 14, 2012. Results from previous polls are available:2011 IFAC SMP Quick Polls and Round-Up.

4. Recent PAIB Report Available for Use Locally

The recent report from the PAIB Committee, Investor Demand for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Disclosures: Implications for Professional Accountants in Business and the accompanying Executive Summary are available for local customization and/or translation. If your organization is interested, please visit the Translations and Permissions page of the IFAC website for a sample permission request, which will need to be completed and submitted to permissions@ifac.org. If you have any questions, please contact Stathis Gould (StathisGould@ifac.org).

5. Recent News, Events, and Publications of Interest

• The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has published White Paper: COSO 2012—Updated, Principles-Based, and More Guidance to help its members understand Internal Control—Integrated Framework, the proposed framework from the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
• The AICPA is also hosting a free webcast on July 12, 2012 with results of the Q2 CGMA Global Economic Forecast. Registration details available at the AICPA website.
• Building a Better Business Through Finance Diversity has been released by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and highlights why diversity is important in an organization and the finance function, and ways organizations can achieve it.
• The Australian Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board has issued Guidance Note 40, Ethical Conflicts in the Workplace—Considerations for Members in Business.
• Certified Management Accountants of Canada has launched a new CMA Research website and management accounting blog as a one-stop shop for publications and information on management accounting (www.managementaccounting.org).
• The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has released the results of the first public comment period for G4—GRI’s fourth generation of sustainability reporting guidelines, which are currently under development.
• GRI has also released its sustainability report for 2010/11, GRI: Inside [and] Out, Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Report.
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, working with the Association of Corporate Treasurers, has released a new report in its Business Briefing Series, Twenty Issues on the Increasing Significance of Corporate Treasury, which discusses challenges faced by corporate treasurers and offers guidance for organizations to use the function more efficiently.
• The Institute of Directors in Southern Africa, on behalf of the King Committee on Corporate Governance, has issued a practice note, King III Chapter 9: The Integrated Report, which aims to clarify the linkages and the different purposes of the King III Code on Governance and the discussion papers issued by South Africa’s Integrated Reporting Committee and the International Integrated Reporting Council.
• The Institute of Internal Auditors and Risk and Insurance Management Society have released Risk Management and Internal Audit: Forging a Collaborative Alliance, which defines the roles and responsibilities of both the risk management and internal audit functions.
• The South African Institute of Professional Accountants is holding its National Conference, Accounting as a Catalyst for Change, in conjunction with its 30^th Anniversary Celebration, July 11-13, 2012, and has invited all IFAC members and stakeholders to attend.

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