In a speech following the G-7 Finance Ministers meeting in Dresden, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew urged institutions—such as the International Monetary Fund, European Commission, and European Central Bank—to act, saying “there need to be some policy decisions implemented in Greece.”

The International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) agrees, but also recommends that strong—albeit sometimes difficult—policy decisions about public sector finances need to be made by international organizations and governments across the globe, and it calls on the G-7 to address these issues at its upcoming meeting. IFAC also welcomes the announcement by Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister, Dimitris Mardas, that the Greek finance ministry is moving to adopt International Public Sector Accounting Standards™ (IPSASs™). This is a small but very important step forward on the journey to full transparency and accountability.

Over recent years many countries have faced fiscal, debt, and other financial management issues, while public servants and politicians have engaged in a highly politicized war of words. However, little has been achieved to fix the fundamental problem: poor public sector financial management, transparency, and accountability.

“Improving public sector financial management and providing for better decision making requires politicians to look beyond their next term in office, and to act in the public’s—and the next generation’s—interests,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer Fayezul Choudhury. “It is critical that policy leaders in governments and international organizations recognize the importance of enhancing public sector finances, reporting, transparency, and accountability. Without demanding the improvements that are necessary, these bodies are destined to be confronting—and debating—the same issues again in the near future.”

IFAC promotes the adoption of high-quality accrual-based financial reporting by governments around the world; IPSASs are the only internationally-accepted standards for such reporting. This reporting provides the foundation for enhanced public sector financial management along with implementation of institutional reforms to support transparency and accountability, including:

• high-quality, timely, independently audited accrual-based financial reporting for the public sector;
• publishing fully transparent reports on a government’s position, performance, budgets, and appropriations to allow for proper scrutiny—particularly ahead of elections; and
• well-defined, publicly available principles for fiscal management and control, with full transparency to demonstrate that principles are being followed.

The International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) today published in the Spanish language the following guidance for professional accountancy organizations (PAOs):

• Mentoring Guidelines for Professional Accountancy Organizations
• Mentoring: The Path to Sustainable Development; and
• Establishing Governance: A Guide for Professional Accountancy Organizations.

These Spanish translations were performed by the Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Económicas and are 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.

"Experience has shown that collaborative relationships between PAOs can be one of the most effective and sustainable approaches to building the capacity of the accountancy profession, particularly in emerging economies," said Alta Prinsloo, IFAC Executive Director, Strategy, and Chief Operating Officer. "In addition, establishing and maintaining a sound system of governance enables a PAO to maintain credibility and deliver on its value proposition to its members and to the public. We hope that these Spanish translations will encourage and support a wider range of PAOs to further contribute to the development of the profession in their own jurisdictions and beyond."

Recognizing the ever-increasing number of knowledge-sharing partnerships between PAOs, and their potential value as capacity-building facilitators, Mentoring: The Path to Sustainable Development highlights mentoring’s benefits—to the mentor, the mentee, and to the profession.

The Mentoring Guidelines offer practical guidance on how PAOs can enter into, and sustain an effective mentoring relationship that will achieve mutually agreed outcomes. It covers considerations before setting up a relationship, how to involve other stakeholders, such as government and aid agencies, and managing possible risks. The guidelines also include a sample Memorandum of Understanding.

Establishing Governance explores the key elements of a PAO’s governance structure and operations, with a focus on how a PAO can best adhere to good practice principles in delivering on its mission and/or vision. It includes case study examples from Kosovo, Mongolia, and Rwanda as illustrations of varying approaches around the world.

Additional Spanish translations of IFAC publications will be forthcoming.

For an overview of translations of IFAC’s publications, please visit the IFAC Translations Database.

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 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.