Other Spanish Publications to Follow
The International Federation of Accountants® (IFAC®) today published in the Spanish language a Discussion Paper developed by IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee, The Role and Expectations of a CFO: A Global Debate on Preparing Accountants for Finance Leadership.
This Discussion Paper was released to stimulate a global debate on preparing accountants for finance leadership. It features five principles that highlight the changing expectations, scope, and mandate of the chief financial officer (CFO) and finance leadership roles, and recommends actions professional accountancy organizations and employers can take to prepare professional accountants for career progression to finance leadership. These principles and recommended actions raise awareness of the implications for the education, training, and development of professional accountants.
The Discussion Paper is also important to the regulatory community, which strives for well-governed and managed organizations. The CFO is a critical part of a chain of actors—including the governing body, chief executive officer, audit committee, and auditor—that share responsibility for ensuring sustainable value creation, as well as relevant organizational reporting. The advantages that professional accountants’ training, expertise, and experience bring to the CFO role are not always recognized, especially professional accountants’ combination of ethical and technical mindsets with business acumen and organizational awareness.
“In these tough economic times, the ethical leadership and professional skillset of accountants in business, including financial and business acumen, are critically important to those performing in senior management finance leadership positions in organizations in every economic sector,” said Charles Tilley, Chair of the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee. “But professional accountants in finance and accounting leadership roles aren’t universal and, in some parts of the world, their numbers are declining. So it is more important than ever for the profession to continue to develop outstanding professionals who are well equipped to work in business and government, and to take on evolving and increasingly more complex finance and accounting leadership roles.”
This Spanish translation was performed by the Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Económicas and is a result of the Ibero-American cooperation framework, known as the IberAm project. Established in 2012, the IberAm project—which includes IFAC and its member bodies in Argentina, Mexico, and Spain—is an IFAC-authorized translation and review process that strives to achieve longer-term, sustainable processes for single, high-quality Spanish translations of international standards and other IFAC publications. The Interamerican Accounting Association, IFAC’s regional organization for Latin America and the Caribbean, is an observer to the project. In addition, the project involves a Review Committee of technical experts representing IFAC member bodies in nine Spanish-speaking countries.
About the PAIB Committee
The PAIB Committee serves IFAC member bodies and professional accountants worldwide who work in commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and the not-for-profit sectors. Its aim is to promote and contribute to the value of professional accountants in business by increasing awareness of the important roles professional accountants play, supporting member bodies in enhancing the competence of their members, and facilitating the communication and sharing of good practices and ideas.
About IFAC
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 over 175 members and associates in 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.8 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.