About Accountancy Education

The education professional accountants receive—both before and after they earn an accountancy qualification—establishes the groundwork for a strong, sustainable, resilient accountancy profession able to evolve as the landscape changes and engender trust in organizations, markets, and economies. Creating and evolving this education foundation involves:

  • Pathways into the profession that are open to all, including aspiring accountants from different socio-economic backgrounds as well as marginalized and underrepresented communities.
  • International Education Standards, which set forth the principles for accountancy programs and focus on a learning outcomes approach, that is, focusing on what is learned rather than what test is passed.
  • Professional accountancy organizations, which base their education requirements on the standards and work with national authorities, regulators, universities and private education providers, and others to adopt and implement the standards.
  • An expansive, complex education ecosystem that includes professors and universities, academics, regulators, governments, and professional accountants working together to best equip current and future accountants with the skills and training they need. 
  • A continuous cycle of evaluating and revising the International Education Standards to ensure they meet the needs of the global accountancy profession and the stakeholders that rely on it.
  • Professional accountants committed to being life-long learners eager to learn new ways to apply existing skill sets as well as maintain current skills and expertise.

To meet these objectives, IFAC follows a multistakeholder approach that includes advice and counsel from the International Panel for Accountancy Education, regular input from education directors at IFAC member organizations and the Forum of Firms, and input and oversight from the IFAC Board.

Key Contacts
  • International Education Standards

    The International Education Standards (IESs) set out the principles and learning outcomes all accountancy programs should follow, including requirements for pre- and post-qualification education. The IESs cover:

    • Entry into an accountancy program
    • Initial education for aspiring accountants (technical competence, professional skills and professional values, ethics, and attitudes)
    • Applying and assessing education for aspiring accountants (practical experience and assessment)
    • Building and maintaining skills for previously qualified accountants (post-qualification education and audit engagement partner competence)

    Explore the International Education Standards and related resources in the IFAC Accountancy Education e-Tool.

  • IES Revision Process & Criteria

    The International Education Standards (IESs) are periodically updated to ensure they remain responsive to evolving global trends that affect accountancy education.

    Guided by a structured process and strong governance, IFAC collaborates with the International Panel on Accountancy Education and accountancy education directors from IFAC member organizations and the Forum of Firms to develop proposed revisions. These revisions undergo a public consultation process, allowing for broad stakeholder input.

    As accounting education specialists, the Panel reviews and endorses the technical content of all revised IESs. After considering feedback and making any necessary refinements, the IFAC Board approves the final standards, ensuring they continue to support a high-quality, globally consistent foundation for professional accountants.

     

    IES Revision Process and IFAC Board Standards Revision Criteria
  • Serving the Public Interest

    The IFAC International Panel on Accountancy Education, which supports IFAC's work in accountancy education, helps serve the public interest[i] is by strengthening the global accountancy profession through the development and enhancement of professional accounting education. We achieve this through developing high-quality International Education Standards (IESs). These standards improve professional accounting education worldwide by setting minimum requirements for initial professional development for aspiring professional accountants and continuing professional development for professional accountants.

    Effective governance is essential to our mission.

    Governance is demonstrated through effective due process, which consists of public transparency, independence, competence, public consultation, and monitoring.

    • Public transparency consists of adherence to a process framework and publicly available materials provided throughout the process that also provides transparency into decision points demonstrating the framework’s application. Stakeholder outreach is one process element designed to capture global and diverse perspectives.
    • Independence in accountancy education differs from independence in developing assurance, auditing and ethics standards and the resultant risk of undue influence exercised by the accountancy profession. High quality accounting education standards development[ii] requires collaboration among constituents of the profession including IFAC, the IPAE, professional accountancy organizations, firms, regulators, and academics. Effective accountancy education is a shared responsibility among stakeholders in the profession thereby obviating potential self-interest threats.[iii]
    • Competence is demonstrated by the individuals and groups that contribute to accountancy education standards development. Baseline expectations for these individuals and groups, which include IPAE members and others with relevant expertise as needed, consist of independence of thought, standard setting expertise, accountancy education experience, accounting practice experience, a willingness to constructively challenge others, and business acumen. Accountancy education standards development is further supported through the IPAE members who are experienced accounting professionals from academia, practitioners in public practice, professional accounting organizations and regulators. IPAE members are subject to IFAC’s nomination and evaluation processes.
    • Public consultation on proposed changes to standards provides oversight, accountability, and contributes to the quality of the output. Public consultation includes evaluating each comment objectively on exposure drafts and providing substantive analysis supporting proposed and final changes through a bases for conclusions. 
    • Monitoring over the process and outputs for accountancy education standards development is achieved through IPAE discussion and resolution, engagement with accountancy education directors and regulators, formal public consultation, and ongoing IFAC board oversight. The nature and extent of monitoring is reflective of the need for collaboration among stakeholders to develop high quality education standards.

    [i] The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC®) is the global organization for the accountancy profession. It serves the public interest by working with its member organizations to help ensure a skilled, knowledgeable, and ethical workforce of professional accountants around the world; by contributing to the development of sustainable private and public sector organizations; and by supporting strong international financial markets and economies. Also see IESBA Code, Section 100.1, “A distinguishing mark of the accountancy profession is its acceptance of the responsibility to act in the public interest.”

    [ii] Accountancy education standards development consists of the process from project identification through standards revision. Projects may not result in reaching a conclusion that IFAC should revise the IESs or new IESs should be issued. Such a conclusion is only reached if sufficient appropriate evidence supports revising the IESs.

    [iii] The Monitoring Group, a group of international financial institutions and regulatory bodies committed to advancing the public interest in areas related to international audit standard setting and audit quality obtained public comments on its consultation related to global standard-setting process for audit, assurance and ethics. The Monitoring Group summarized public comments and stated that “widespread support” existed “from respondents in most stakeholder groups, except for some regulators, that IFAC should continue to be responsible for the development of International Education Standards (by supporting the ongoing work of the IAESB)…and many noted that this aligned well with the work of IFAC’s member bodies.”

  • Accountancy Education Directors Forum

    A key part of the governance includes stakeholder outreach and engagement with IFAC’s Accountancy Education Directors Forum. This Forum is comprised of education directors from both IFAC Member Organizations and members of the Forum of Firms. It meets regularly to share good practice and discuss current issues in accountancy education. All education directors from IFAC Member Organizations and members of Forum of Firms are invited and encouraged to attend these events.

    If you aren't already involved and believe your organization should be, please email education@ifac.org.

  • IAESB, 2005-2019

    The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) made significant contributions to international accountancy education and the global accountancy profession by developing high-quality, relevant International Education Standards and by harnessing stakeholder relations to understand future needs. In 2018, the IAESB and IFAC agreed on a new path forward that includes shifting the responsibility for the International Education Standards and guiding accountancy education into the future to IFAC, working in close partnership with its 180 member organizations, Network Partners and Forum of Firms stakeholders. The valuable contributions of and publications by the IAESB are included throughout this website and serve as a foundation to build upon.