The latest IFAC SMP Quick Poll, conducted in late 2012, showed that the smallest accounting practices and their clients are not immune to macroeconomic instability. With the continuing sovereign debt crisis, a double-dip recession in the Eurozone, and rising inflation in some regions, economic uncertainty pervaded many of the responses to the poll of small- and medium-sized accounting practitioners (SMPs). Despite these concerns, SMPs remain cautiously optimistic, showing their resilience and perseverance during challenging times.

After keeping up with new regulations and standards, three issues related to the health of the economy—attracting and retaining clients, pressure to lower fees, and rising costs—topped the list of challenges faced by SMPs. Similarly, respondents indicated that their clients, small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs), are most challenged by regulations followed by economic uncertainty. Respondents generally expect little change in business performance in the coming year; however, slightly more SMPs (5 points more) indicated they expect business to improve in the coming year compared to those who said the same at the end of 2011. They expect this growth primarily to be driven by revenue from new clients.

While respondents identified the reputation and credibility of the profession as a top issue facing the profession in 2013, they generally ranked public perception of the profession in their country/jurisdiction as average to above average and expect this perception to improve by 2025.

“As drivers of growth and development, small businesses are extremely important to the health of local and global economies. We must not underestimate the value of this sector and the role that accountants play in supporting SMEs as trusted business advisors. Therefore, regulators and standard setters need to be mindful of the impact their requirements have on SMPs and SMEs; as the poll results show, this is an area that continues to challenge both small businesses and their accountants,” said SMP Committee Chair Giancarlo Attolini.

The poll report includes notable variations by region and size of practice in addition to trend data based on previous polls where available. 

The year-end 2012 poll received 3,767 responses and was conducted in 17 languages from November 21 to December 31. The poll, conducted twice in 2012, is intended to take a snapshot of key challenges and trends influencing SMPs globally; since the responses were not geographically balanced, the results are not necessarily representative of SMPs on a global or regional basis. IFAC wishes to thank the many member and regional organizations that helped with translation and distribution of the poll. 

About the SMP Committee
The SMP Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) represents the interests of professional accountants operating in small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs). The committee develops guidance and tools and works to ensure the needs of the SMPs are considered by standard setters, regulators, and policy makers. The committee also speaks out on behalf of SMPs to raise awareness of their role and value, especially in supporting SMEs, and the importance of the small business sector overall.

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 173 members and associates in 129 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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Participating Panelists in order of presentation:

Jay Hanson—PCAOB Member

Dan Montgomery—IAASB Deputy Chair           

Joel Osnoss—Global IFRS Leader, Deloitte

Steven Buller—BlackRock

Introduction

Good afternoon everyone. I appreciate the opportunity to be with you today. As panelist Jay Hanson from the PCAOB mentioned in his remarks before me, there are many interesting ongoing developments affecting the auditing profession, and I think most of us would agree, in light of the global financial crisis, there is even more of a role for auditors to play in helping restore the confidence of analysts, investors and others in financial reporting and increasing the relevance of the financial statement audit.

As an independent standard-setting board, the IAASB does not represent the auditing profession, but rather seeks to establish requirements for the profession that respond to the public interest. And we do this on an international basis, recognizing that analysts and other users operate in a global environment and need confidence that audits, wherever they are undertaken, are to the same high standards and auditor communications are able to be compared and understood across borders.

In today’s environment, the audited financial statements are certainly important and a central focus of the information set available to users. But the spectrum of financial communications includes more than the financial statements: there is much information that is issued along with, but not a part of, the financial statements that users look to for insight into a company.

At the same time, the increasing complexity of business and financial reporting has increased the volume of financial statement disclosures and other information, which has led to calls for change in the way that information is presented and disclosed.  It also has led to calls for change in the way auditors communicate with users about the audit as well as auditor involvement with other types of information.

So the questions are: how are auditors involved with important information being communicated by entities to users? And how can and should they be more involved, and more relevant in their work? With that backdrop, I will highlight a number of IAASB initiatives aimed at strengthening the auditor’s role in relation to different types of information communicated to users of financial statements.

Auditor Reporting

Let me start with the auditor’s report and IAASB’s number one priority project to explore how to enhance its communicative value. While users certainly support the current “pass/fail” audit opinion, many believe there is scope for expanding what auditors say about the audit that was performed. Auditors are “the on-the-ground eyes and ears” acting on behalf of investors and other stakeholders; they understand the areas of the financial statements that pose the greatest risk for misstatements, as well as the areas that are most subjective and judgmental; and they bring to bear their expertise and professional judgments in formulating their opinions. So, many are asking auditors to give more insights about their work.

The IAASB has now done two public consultations on the subject of auditor reporting and the message is quite clear – users, especially investors, want to understand more about what auditors do, where auditors spend their time, and the areas where the most challenging discussions with management or with the audit committee took place. Some users have said that this would help them get better insight into the quality of the individual audit that was performed.

The main improvement to auditor reporting that the IAASB is exploring is a new section of the auditor’s report that we have referred to as Auditor Commentary. In our June 2012 consultation, we explored an objective for Auditor Commentary focusing on matters that, in the auditor’s judgment, are likely to be most important to users’ understanding of the financial statements and the audit and provided some examples of how the concept could be operationalized.

Respondents to our consultation supported the concept of the Auditor Commentary at a high level, and investors in particular favored increased transparency about what “kept the auditor up at night” and believed the role of the auditor was to flag the most challenging matters relating to the audit as a prompt for stakeholders to further engage directly with management and the audit committee on these matters. Investors and preparers and others, however, expressed concerns about the auditor being seen as providing original information about the entity. Preparers in particular felt it was their role to explain the most important matters in the financial statements to users and cautioned against the possibility of blurring lines of responsibilities. 

We are currently exploring a focus on key audit areas and significant auditor judgments as a useful way forward, and we will continue to debate how this could best be done, with plans to approve an exposure draft in June 2013.

The IAASB also is exploring auditor reporting on Going Concern. The global financial crisis has led to some criticism that earlier warning signals about going concern are needed. Our initial proposals were derived from the auditor’s current work effort in relation to going concern in an ISA audit. But respondents to our consultation were concerned about the risk that auditor reporting on going concern could be misinterpreted by users, thereby increasing the expectations gap. They also highlighted that going concern is first and foremost a financial reporting concept, and that a more holistic approach to change involving both accounting and auditing standard setters might be the most appropriate response to the calls for change.  The IAASB has been encouraged to work collaboratively with the IASB and FASB in finding the best way forward in this area.

One final point on auditor reporting. The IAASB recognizes the importance of alignment, to the extent practicable, with others currently addressing auditor reporting, including the PCAOB, the European Commission, and the UK Financial Reporting Council. For this reason, we see coordination and collaboration as an essential part of our work.

Disclosures - Within and Outside the Financial Statements

Let me now turn to the topic of disclosures. Although the auditor’s opinion is on the financial statements as a whole, there are many important disclosures in today’s financial reports: many quantitative, but increasingly qualitative or narrative-based and more judgmental in nature. The natural questions that arise include whether all disclosures are being audited in the same way, and should they be? Is materiality the same for all the different types of disclosures? And should auditors help ensure that disclosures focus on the right information in the right amount of detail; if so, how?

The IAASB of course has a role to play in seeking answers to these and other important questions, and in September 2012 approved commencement of a new project addressing the audit implications of disclosures. As part of this initiative we will actively liaise with the IASB, FASB and others.

As you all know, there also is much important information presented in financial reports outside the basic financial statements,” such as MD&A. In September 2012 the IAASB approved for exposure a proposed revised standard addressing the auditor’s responsibilities relating to this “other information.” Auditors currently have a responsibility to read this information to identify any material inconsistencies with the audited financial statements. We propose enhancing this responsibility as there is much that the auditor can bring to bear in light of the auditor’s understanding of the entity and its environment acquired during an audit. The comment period on this exposure draft runs through to March 14, 2013.

All of the above is part of finding answers to the key question: “How can auditors and others in the financial reporting process assist in improving the quality and understandability of disclosures?”

Broader and Forward Thinking

Let me turn finally to other types of relevant information for users of financial statements.

Analysts and investors often cite a company’s earnings release, or preliminary announcements, as the key financial information used in decision-making. While some countries have requirements for auditor association with this information, there are currently no global requirements for auditors relating to earnings releases. The IAASB intends to leverage our experiences with our other information project, and undertake research to begin to explore what may be feasible in relation to possible requirements for auditors on earnings releases. We plan to commence this in 2014.

Also on the horizon is the concept of “integrated reporting,” which is being spearheaded by the IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council). This topic is getting much attention and gaining momentum globally, as investors and others believe that corporate reporting should be more focused in more holistic explaining the entity’s value creation over time.

Moving to integrated reporting will no doubt have implications for companies but also for auditors, not only in relation to assurance on the financial statements included in an integrated report, but also in terms of the possibility of assurance on the entire integrated report. For this reason, the IAASB has formed a working group to track ongoing developments related to integrated reporting to ensure the IAASB is well-positioned to develop an appropriate response, perhaps in the form of standards, when the time comes.

This working group also will lead our forward thinking on other important areas such as XBRL and corporate governance reporting, where developments are happening quickly, and we remain committed to identifying early on where the IAASB’s future priorities need to be.

Closing

These are exciting and challenging times. It is now more important than ever for groups like IAASB, PCAOB, IASB, and FASB to work collaboratively. In addition, analysts, investors and preparers have to be engaged and outspoken about needs and concerns to help influence future direction, and all must work together to find common, meaningful and workable solutions to current and emerging issues.

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the work of the CFA Institute and its support of the IAASB, as well as the importance of individual analyst feedback into the work of IAASB, which is very much appreciated.

Thank you for the opportunity to be here today.

Objective

This project will review the long association provisions in Section 290 of the Code to ensure that they continue to provide robust and appropriate safeguards against the familiarity and self-interest threats arising from long association with an audit client.

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession with members and associates in 129 countries, has issued new International Good Practice Guidance, Principles for Effective Business Reporting Processes. This principles-based guidance establishes a benchmark for professional accountants in business to establish more effective business processes in the organizations in which they work.

"An organization’s sustainable success depends on the support of stakeholders and the quality of their decision making,” said Roger Tabor, chair of the PAIB Committee. “High-quality reporting is essential to both, and needs effective business processes to deliver it."

This guidance is directed at all organizations wishing to enhance their reporting processes—no matter their size or structure, or whether they are private or public, as all organizations should have effective reporting processes to provide high-quality reports for their internal and external stakeholders.

“Professional accountants in business are often involved in the design, planning, execution, audit, evaluation, and improvement—or, in short, the implementation—of their organizations’ reporting processes,” said Karyn Brooks, chair of the PAIB Committee’s Business Reporting Task Force. “This International Good Practice Guidance covers the primary issues professional accountants in business should address in implementing effective reporting processes in their organizations.”

About International Good Practice Guidance
International Good Practice Guidance (IGPG) issued by the PAIB Committee cover areas of international and strategic importance in which professional accountants in business are likely to engage. In issuing principles-based guidance, IFAC seeks to foster a common and consistent approach to those aspects of the work of professional accountants in business not covered by international standards. IFAC seeks to clearly identify principles that are generally accepted internationally and applicable to organizations of all sizes in commerce, industry, education, and the public and not-for-profit sectors. Previously issued IGPGs are available on the IFAC website, including Preface to IFAC’s International Good Practice Guidance.

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 173 members and associates in 129 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) today released for public comment a new Consultation Paper addressing audit quality. A Framework for Audit Quality seeks input from stakeholders internationally who have an interest in continually enhancing audit quality, including regulators, audit committees, investors, and audit firms.

Through the proposed framework, the IAASB aims to raise awareness of the key elements of audit quality, encourage stakeholders to explore ways to improve audit quality, and facilitate greater dialogue between key stakeholders on the topic.

“While the IAASB recognizes that high-quality auditing standards and well-qualified, competent, skeptical auditors are essential to a quality audit, there are many factors that contribute to maximizing the likelihood of quality audits being consistently performed,” said Prof. Arnold Schilder, IAASB chairman. “There is value in identifying and describing these factors and, thereby, encouraging audit firms and other stakeholders to challenge themselves to think about whether there is more they can do to increase audit quality in their particular environments.”

The IAASB is seeking responses to several questions listed in the Consultation Paper, in particular, whether the framework is clear, comprehensive, and useful. In developing the framework, the IAASB has also identified, with the input of stakeholders, a number of areas for consideration by both auditors and other participants in the financial reporting supply chain that may benefit audit quality on a global basis.

“The proposed framework describes the input and output factors that contribute to audit quality at the engagement, audit firm, and national levels. It also demonstrates the importance of appropriate interactions among stakeholders and the relevance of various contextual factors,” explained James Gunn, IAASB technical director. “We hope that A Framework for Audit Quality will generate discussion and that its active use by various stakeholders will result in positive actions in the public interest to achieve a continual improvement to audit quality.”

How to Comment
The IAASB invites all stakeholders to comment on the consultation paper. To access the document or submit a comment, visit the IAASB’s website at www.iaasb.org. Comments are requested by May 15, 2013.

About the IAASB
The IAASB develops auditing and assurance standards and guidance for use by all professional accountants under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IAASB, and the IAASB Consultative Advisory Group, which provides public interest input into the development of the standards and guidance. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IAASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

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. It is comprised of 173 members and associates in 129 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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The Nominating Committee of IFAC has today issued the Call for Nominations for Boards and Committees in 2014. This announcement represents the beginning of the period for submitting nominations for available positions on the independent standard-setting boards* and the IFAC Board and committees. The period for nominations ends on March 15, 2013.

For 2014, there are 46 vacancies on boards and committees, including two leadership positions—the chairs of the Professional Accountancy Organization Development Committee and the Professional Accountants in Business Committee.

“The independent standard-setting boards and the IFAC Board and committees attract extremely talented and qualified individuals with wide-ranging experience, which contributes to their authority,” said IFAC President Warren Allen. “We thank all our stakeholders, including our members and the Forum of Firms, for their continued support and look forward to receiving their nominations.”

The Nominating Committee is looking for highly-qualified nominees who possess knowledge of the subject matters considered by the relevant board or committee, are proficient in English, and are willing to commit between 300 and 600 hours per year, depending on the board or committee. Nominations from the Africa-Middle East and the Latin America-Caribbean regions, as well as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are particularly encouraged, as are nominations of female candidates.

All vacancies on the independent standard-setting boards are open for nominations by the public, including, for the first time, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board. For more information regarding open vacancies, requirements for membership, and how to apply, please refer to the Call for Nominations.

The Nominating Committee follows an open and transparent process in selecting the best candidates for the available positions, while also aiming to achieve gender, regional, and professional balance. For more information about the Nominating Committee, its due process, or guidance in selecting the best candidate, please visit www.ifac.org/about-ifac/structure-governance/nominating-committee.

IFAC encourages all members and associates to share the Call for Nominations with their membership in order to solicit the most talented professionals.

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. It is comprised of 173 members and associates in 129 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

 *The independent standard-setting boards are the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB), International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), and International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB).

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Thank you for signing up to receive eNews from the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). This edition of IESBA eNews provides a summary of decisions made at the IESBA’s meeting held December 10-12, 2012, in New York, USA. See the Meeting Page for more information.

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Emerging Issues and Strategic Plan
2. Breach of a Provision of the Code
3. Conflicts of Interest
4. Definition of Engagement Team
5. Long Association of Senior Personnel with an Audit Client
6. Non-Assurance Services
7. Review of Part C of the Code
8. Suspected Illegal Acts
9. Next Meetings
10. New Technical Director
11. 2013 IESBA Handbook

1. Emerging Issues and Strategic Plan

IESBA members shared information and views about significant national and international developments or emerging issues of potential relevance to the IESBA’s current and future strategy and work plan.

In addition, the IESBA agreed to the scope of, and general approach to, the survey of stakeholders to be used to facilitate the development of its Strategy and Work Plan, 2014-2016. 

The survey is now open through March 15, 2013. The IESBA encourages all stakeholders to participate. For the strategy and work plan currently in effect, see Strategy and Work Plan, 2011–2012, and the additional work streams added in mid-2012.

2. Breach of a Provision of the Code

The IESBA approved for issuance, subject to due process confirmation by the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB), changes to the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code) related to provisions addressing a breach of a requirement of the Code.

The changes will be effective approximately one year after issuance of the final pronouncement, which is expected by the end of March 2013. The final pronouncement will be included in the 2013 Handbook of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (see below).

3. Conflicts of Interest
The IESBA approved for issuance, subject to due process confirmation by the PIOB, changes to the Code addressing conflicts of interest. The final pronouncement is expected to be released by the end of March 2013, with the changes becoming effective on July 1, 2014. The final pronouncement will be included in the 2013 Handbook of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (see below).

4. Definition of Engagement Team

The IESBA considered the significant comments received on the Exposure Draft (ED) of its proposed change to the definition of the term “engagement team.” The IESBA also considered further amendments to the proposed definition, taking into account limited amendments proposed by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) to the material in ISA 610 (Revised), Using the Work of Internal Auditors, dealing with the use of internal auditors to provide direct assistance on the external audit (Direct Assistance).

The IESBA will consider approving the revised definition of “engagement team” after consulting with its Consultative Advisory Group (CAG) on January 21, 2013.

5. Long Association of Senior Personnel (Including Partner Rotation) with an Audit Client

The IESBA approved a project proposal to review the long association provisions in Section 290 of the Code to ensure that they continue to provide robust and appropriate safeguards against the familiarity and self-interest threats arising from long association with an audit client.

The IESBA will consider preliminary issues relating to the project at its March 2013 meeting, including the approach to the project.

6. Non-Assurance Services

The IESBA approved in principle, subject to confirmation of scope, a project proposal to review the non-assurance services provisions in Sections 290 and 291 of the Code to ensure that they continue to support a rigorous approach to independence for assurance services, particularly audits of financial statements.

The IESBA will consider the outcome of a benchmarking exercise for purposes of narrowing the scope of the project at its March 2013 meeting.

7. Review of Part C of the Code

Part C of the Code addresses how the conceptual framework of threats and safeguards in Part A of the Code applies in certain situations to professional accountants in business (PAIBs). The IESBA agreed to the recommendations of the Part C Working Group, including that priority attention be given to the following areas in a review of Part C of the Code:

• Pressure by superiors and others to engage in unethical or illegal acts;
• The responsibility of PAIBs to produce financial reports that are faithful representations of the economics of transactions, and associated matters; and
• Facilitation of payments and bribes.

The IESBA agreed that the Part C work stream should proceed on an accelerated basis under the current strategy and work plan rather than be subject to further consideration of relative prioritization as part of the upcoming consultation on its Strategy and Work Plan, 2014-2016. Accordingly, the IESBA directed the Working Group to develop a project proposal for its consideration at the March 2013 IESBA meeting.

8. Suspected Illegal Acts

The IESBA received a brief update on initial stakeholder reactions to its August 2012 Exposure Draft (ED), Responding to a Suspected Illegal Act, which closed on December 15, 2012.

The IESBA will consider the significant comments from the nearly 70 responses received on the ED at its March 2013 meeting.

9. Next Meetings

Meetings of the IESBA and the IESBA CAG are open to the public. The IESBA CAG will next meet via teleconference on January 21, 2013. The IESBA is expected to next meet via teleconference in the latter part of January 2013. The next face-to-face IESBA meeting will be held in New York, USA, on March 11–13, 2013. For more information and to register to attend an IESBA meeting as an observer, visit IESBA Meetings. For more information and to register to attend an IESBA CAG meeting as an observer, visit IESBA CAG Meetings.

10. New Technical Director

Ken Siong has assumed the role of technical director of the IESBA effective January 1, 2013. Ken brings over 10 years of experience working with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), most recently as deputy director. In that capacity, his responsibilities included managing a number of key IAASB standard-setting projects and other initiatives—including audit quality, quality control, and related parties—overseeing the IAASB’s liaison with major national standard setters, and coordinating the IAASB’s strategic and operational activities. Prior to joining the IAASB, Ken worked as a senior manager in the assurance practice of PwC in Hong Kong. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

11. 2013 IESBA Handbook

The IESBA is developing the 2013 Handbook of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. It will contain the final pronouncements addressing breaches of provisions in the Code and conflicts of interest. It is also expected to contain the revised definition of “engagement team.” The 2013 Handbook is expected to be released in the second quarter of 2013. For the current edition, see 2012 IESBA Handbook.   

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has issued the first four chapters of its Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities (the Conceptual Framework). The chapters are:

Chapter 1:    Role and Authority of the Conceptual Framework
Chapter 2:    Objectives and Users of General Purpose Financial Reporting 
Chapter 3:    Qualitative Characteristics  
Chapter 4:    Reporting Entity  

The Conceptual Framework underpins the development of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) and Recommended Practice Guidelines (RPGs).    

“The publication of the Conceptual Framework’s first four chapters is a major landmark for the IPSASB and the setting of global accounting standards for the public sector,” said IPSASB Chair Andreas Bergmann. “These concepts will provide the basis for the ongoing development of consistent and useful IPSASs and RPGs, and for the other three phases of the Conceptual Framework. They will also provide guidance to preparers faced with financial reporting issues not dealt with by IPSASs or RPGs.”

The chapters outline the role of the Conceptual Framework in the IPSAS and RPG development process, identify that the primary users of general purpose financial reports (GPFRs) of public sector entities are service recipients and resource providers, and clarify that the objectives of financial reporting by public sector entities are to provide information useful to users for accountability and decision making purposes. They also identify the qualitative characteristics of, and constraints on, information included in GPFRs and the key characteristics of a public sector reporting entity.

Information presented in financial statements is central to financial reporting and will remain the primary focus of IPSASs and RPGs developed by the IPSASB. However, because the primary objective of governments and other public sector entities is to deliver services to constituents the performance of public sector entities can only be partially evaluated by reference to their financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. These chapters explain that, to respond to users’ need for information for accountability and decision-making purposes, the scope of financial reporting by public sector entities is more comprehensive than information included in the financial statements. GPFRs may include, for example, information about an entity’s achievement of its service delivery objectives, compliance with its approved budget, and prospective information about its future service delivery activities, objectives, and resource needs.

Other chapters of the Conceptual Framework, which will address the definition, recognition, and measurement of the “elements” (or building blocks) of financial statements, and presentation in GPFRs, are being developed. They will be added to the Conceptual Framework when completed.

At its recent meeting, the IPSASB confirmed that it will review present IPSASs and non-authoritative guidance and, through application of the due process, address circumstances where there is substantial conflict between an IPSAS and the Conceptual Framework when issued. The mechanism and timing for withdrawal of the qualitative characteristics presently in IPSAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements, and any other changes to IPSASs resulting from issue of these four chapters will be determined and communicated to constituents in 2013.

About the IPSASB
The IPSASB develops IPSASs, RPGs and other publications for use by public sector entities. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IPSASB are facilitated by IFAC. The IPSASB receives support (both direct financial and in-kind) from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, and the governments of Canada, China, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

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. It is comprised of 173 members and associates in 129 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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