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Accountancy Without Borders: Global Standards Achieving Worldwide Adoption

Oct 12, 2018 | New York, New York | English

Transparent, high-quality international standards are essential pillars of the global financial architecture. Their adoption and implementation improve the availability of high-quality financial information for stakeholders, investors and the public, which result in greater economic growth, development, and accountability.

The 2017 Global Status Report is a first-of-its-kind report utilizing information collected through the IFAC Member Compliance Program to measure progress in adoption of international accountancy standards and highlight the essential role of professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) in strengthening economies through the adoption and promotion of these best practices.

Don’t have time to read the whole report? You can read interviews on the key trends and highlights in Accounting Today, Bloomberg BNA and Public Finance International or listen to our podcast with Accounting Today!
Explore more: IFAC regularly adds new comprehensive profiles of our member organizations and the jurisdictions. For more information, take a look at our Gateway article and previous eNews.

#PAOGovernanceSeries

In January 2018, IFAC released Focusing on Performance, which raises awareness of the importance good corporate governance practices and principles for PAOs. This new article series features PAO stories from across the globe on the importance of adapting governance arrangements to drive performance while considering current and past governance arrangements.

Read first-hand experiences from PAOs in Barbados, the Bahamas, Kosovo, and the Cayman Islands on key issues such as succession planning, balancing board and executive management responsibilities, and committee restructuring. Stay tuned for more stories coming from the Philippines, Costa Rica and more!

Don’t forget these additional resources to help support your PAO’s good governance review and planning:

Does your PAO have experience driving corporate governance reforms to enhance performance? Let us know—we would love to showcase your work in action!

Spotlight On: Global Initiatives to Strengthen Accountancy Profession
  • New Syllabus for Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana)
    ICAG launched a newly revised syllabus for its professional examinations. The revisions reflect changing trends in the global economy and professional educational and align with the revised International Education Standards’ requirements. Key highlights of the new syllabus>>
  • A Quality Alliance: Uniting for Quality Assurance Reviews in Panama
    The Colegio de Contadores Públicos Autorizados de Panamá has been a driving force in establishing Panama’s Quality Alliance, a voluntary QA review mechanism. Read CCPAP’s QA review journey in English and Spanish>>
  • Brazil Enhances Transparency and Accountability with Convergence of IPSAS
    The Federal Accounting Council has forged a partnership with the National Treasury Secretariat to implement a conceptual framework for the convergence of Brazilian standards with International Public Sector Accounting Standards. Through the partnership, it is expected that Brazil will fully adopt and implement IPSAS by 2024. Learn more about Brazil’s progress (in Portuguese)>>
  • Malaysian Institute of Accountants Launches Technology Blueprint
    MIA launched its MIA Digital Technology Blueprint at its inaugural AccTech Conference 2018. The guidance and the conference are both part of the institute’s ongoing initiatives to future-proof the Malaysian accountancy profession and provide more value to the ecosystem. Explore the Blueprint here>>
Supporting Member Organizations: Enhancing Accountancy Education and Increased Collaboration Will Ready PAOs for the Future

A Future-ready Accountancy Profession
As professional accountants and PAOs are preparing for the future, there is an emphasis on implementing a comprehensive, integrated approach to international accountancy education to equip current and future professional accountants with the skills, capabilities and ethical foundation required for a rapidly changing environment. IFAC has been speaking out on this topic alongside partners such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean, the PAO Development Committee, the World Bank, and the Interamerican Accounting Association

Greater Cooperation, Greater Growth
IFAC continues to convene key groups and partake in knowledge-sharing opportunities in order to identify, debate, and seek solutions to key issues and challenges. In 2018, IFAC continued to advocate for greater collaboration between PAOs and firms in Asia-Pacific, amongst PAOs in the Western Balkans, and among accountant generals, auditor generals, and PAOs in Sub-Saharan Africa. By leveraging and sharing global experiences and resources, the accountancy profession worldwide will continue to be strengthened.

A-Z: Worldwide Stakeholder Engagement

Albania, Belarus, Croatia, Ecuador, Georgia, Haiti, Mexico, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe: 2018 has been a busy year for engagement and efforts to strengthen and develop PAOs and advance economies. Meetings with key accountancy stakeholders, such as PAOs, regulators, universities, and audit oversight entities, in these countries have been essential in furthering national accountancy regulations alignment with international standards and best practices. 2018 will close out with meetings and events in Australia, Guatemala, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, and the UK.

Intellectual Properties Corner

The International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) is now completely rewritten, easier to use, navigate and enforce. Beyond its new structure, the new Code brings together substantive revisions to ethics and independence provisions and clarifies how professional accountants should apply the conceptual framework to comply with the fundamental principles of ethics, and where applicable, be independent. The new Code will be effective June 2019.

Does your PAO want to proactively reproduce, share, and/or translate the revised Code in advance of the effective date? Submit a permissions request here!

Upcoming Events in 2018
  • PAO Development Committee Meeting, October, New York, US
  • Compliance Advisory Panel Meeting, October, New York, US
  • PAO Forum, October, Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • World Congress of Accountants, November 2018, Sydney, Australia—register today!
IFAC Quality & Development Team

The IFAC Quality & Development Team supports IFAC member organizations’ efforts to adopt and implement international standards (thus improving SMO fulfillment) and build the capacity of the global accountancy profession.
The team manages the Member Compliance Program and the membership admission process, PAO Capacity Building Program, including the PAO Development Committee, Accountability. Now. and sustainable accountancy development efforts. The Member Compliance Program is overseen by the Compliance Advisory Panel and the Public Interest Oversight Board as one of IFAC’s public interest activities.
Questions? Contact us at compliance@ifac.org.