The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession, today announced the election of Warren Allen, of New Zealand, as president for a two-year term ending November 2014. The IFAC Council also approved the nomination of Olivia Kirtley, of the United States, as deputy president, a role previously held by Mr. Allen.

“Ours is a global profession—in fact, probably the only truly global profession,” said Mr. Allen. “We have much to celebrate, but there are still many demands to be met. I am completely committed to meeting these demands—to working with the boards and committees, IFAC member bodies, and IFAC’s exceptional management team and staff to deliver on all of the priorities contained in the strategic plan.”

Mr. Allen has served on the IFAC Board for six years. He was elected deputy president in 2010, and served as chair of the Planning and Finance Committee, which leads the development of IFAC’s strategic plan. He is executive director and recently retired partner of Ernst & Young New Zealand and is a past president and Life Member of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. He previously served on IFAC's Education Committee (now the International Accounting Education Standards Board) for over 10 years, including as chair from 1998 to 2004. 

Ms. Kirtley will serve as deputy president for a two-year term and also take the role of chair of the Planning and Finance Committee. She joined the IFAC Board in 2007, and has chaired the Governance and Audit Committee. Ms. Kirtley is a non-executive director for U.S. Bancorp, Papa John’s International, Inc., and ResCare, Inc. She has also served as chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and of the AICPA Board of Examiners. For more information on Olivia Kirtley, see her biography.

“As the world continues to face the effects of the sovereign debt and financial crises, and the accountancy profession continues to play its role as a valued leader in the development of strong and sustainable organizations, financial markets, and economies, the experiences Warren and Olivia bring to IFAC and to the accountancy profession are indispensable,” said Göran Tidström, outgoing president of IFAC. “Warren’s experience on the Education Committee and his service as deputy president and as chair of IFAC’s Planning and Finance Committee will serve IFAC well, and Olivia’s experience as a professional accountant in business and corporate director will bring new perspectives to the role. In addition, I am personally very gratified that we have appointed the first female deputy president of IFAC.”

New Board Members Elected
The IFAC Council meeting also included the election of six new members to the IFAC Board: Carol Bellringer (Canada), Norunn Byrkjeland (Norway), Dr. Yugui Chen (China), Pamela Monroe Ellis (Jamaica), Dr. In-Ki Joo (South Korea), and Russell Loubser (South Africa). The IFAC Council also re-elected Jacques Potdevin (France) and Marta Rejman (UK). These additions and re-elections add to the diversity of the IFAC Board—in gender, geography, and professional experience.

IFAC Admits New Members
Six new associates were admitted to the organization: the Albanian Institute of Certified Accountants, the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, the Institute of Professional Auditors (Russia), the Ordre National des Experts Comptables et des Comptablies Agréés du Togo, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda, and the Ordem Dos Tecnicos Oficiais dos Contas (Portugal) were admitted as associates. Two existing associates were admitted to the organization as members: the Association of Accounting Technicians (UK) and the Mongolian Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Additionally, IFAC officially granted the Pan African Federation of Accountants Recognized Regional Organization status. For a full listing of IFAC members, see the membership section of IFAC’s website.

Approves Strategic Plan 2013-16
As part of the Council Meeting, IFAC’s strategic plan for 2013-16 was approved. The theme of the plan, Leading the Way, signifies IFAC’s intent to solidify its position as the global voice of the accountancy profession and to take on an increased leadership role on key global initiatives.

The plan highlights IFAC’s responsiveness to the major global regulatory shifts that will continue to shape the profession in the coming years. It will continue to focus on its core activity: development, adoption, and implementation of high-quality international standards. In addition, it will continue its focus on improved public sector financial reporting and integrated reporting, and enhance its focus on regulation and public policy. It will continue to take an inclusive approach, with an emphasis on capacity building. And finally, it will pursue a sustainable funding model.

To download the plan, see Strategic Plan for 2013–2016.

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.

#   #   #

Note to Editors – IFAC Board Members November 2012-November 2013:

Warren Allen (President)
Olivia Kirtley (Deputy President)
Carol Bellringer,* Canada
Jelil Bouraoui, Tunisia
Norunn Byrkjeland,* Norway
Ramon Casals, Spain
Dr. Yugui Chen,* China
Pamela Monroe Ellis,* Jamaica
Ana Maria Elorrieta, Brazil
Rachel Grimes, Australia
Ahmadi Hadibroto, Indonesia
Robert Harris, United States
Robert Hodgkinson, United Kingdom
Prof. In-Ki Joo,* Republic of South Korea
Japheth Katto, Uganda
Russell Loubser,* South Africa
Jacques Potdevin,** France
Ganapathy Ramaswamy, India
Marta Rejman,** United Kingdom
Makoto Shinohara, Japan
Masum Turker, Turkey
Steven Vieweg, Canada

* New IFAC Board members as of November 2012
** IFAC Board member reappointed for a second term in November 2012

IAASB Chair Prof. Arnold Schilder was a guest speaker at the Public Seminar in Melbourne, Australia, presenting Directions in Auditing & Assurance: Challenges and Opportunities. The presentation focused on the relevance of Clarified International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), the Challenges to the Relevance of Audit, Auditor reporting and the IAASB’s Invitation to Comment (ITC), titled Improving the Auditor’s Report, and the challenges and opportunities in setting international auditing and assurance standards.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) has released (IES) 6, Initial Professional Development—Assessment of Professional Competence. The revised education standard will help IFAC member bodies and other professional accountancy organizations understand the learning and development requirements for assessing professional competence, and their obligations in upholding the standards.

The revised standard also addresses elements that are essential to assessing professional competence of an aspiring professional accountant.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession with members and associates in 127 countries, held its 35^th Council Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa this week. As part of the meeting, IFAC held its annual seminar, which focused this year on integrated reporting.

The seminar, A Fundamental Shift in Corporate Reporting, featured a keynote address by Prof. Mervyn King SC, chair of the International Integrated Reporting Council and chair of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, which has published the King I, King II, and King III Reports on Corporate Governance.

This year’s seminar focused on drawing upon the experiences and perspectives of integrated reporting in practical terms—the South African experience, how to implement integrated reporting, and how to address the challenges and opportunities for small- and medium-sized entities and accountancy practices.

“This year’s seminar recognized the vital role the accountancy profession plays in bringing integrated reporting to more organizations,” said IFAC President Göran Tidström. “Integrated reporting isn’t just a trend—it reflects global changes in best practices and stakeholder expectations and will provide a more complete picture of the health and wellbeing of organizations.”

The seminar included high-profile speakers including Prof. Alexandra Watson, College of Accounting, University of Cape Town; Malcolm Gray, Portfolio Manager, Responsible Investment Portfolios, Investec Asset Management; Graham Terry, Senior Executive: Strategy and Thought Leadership, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants; Ian Jameson, Chief Advisor, Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Sustainability Division, Eskom; Helen Brand, Chief Executive, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; Michael H. Rea, Partner, Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services; and Nicky van Hille, Director, The Moss Group. Roger Tabor, Chair of IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business Committee, moderated the seminar.

Highlights from the seminar will be available on the IFAC website in the coming weeks.

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 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

 #   #   #

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today presented its International Gold Service Award to Professor Mervyn King. IFAC President Göran Tidström presented the prestigious award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the accountancy profession, during IFAC’s annual Council Meeting.

In his remarks, Mr. Tidström highlighted Mervyn King’s substantial contributions to corporate governance and integrated reporting. In particular, in his role as chair of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, Mr. King has demonstrated extraordinary foresight and dedication, pioneering the drafting of the international benchmark for corporate governance guidelines known as King I (now King III), which have been lauded for their inclusive and integrated approach. King now presides at the center of the integrated reporting movement, chairing the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), which has been charged with drafting an internationally accepted integrated reporting framework. Prior to the IIRC’s formation, King led the accelerated development of such a framework for South Africa, when the country, in 2010, became one of the first in the world to require publicly listed companies to produce integrated reports. 

“It is my privilege to present the IFAC International Gold Service Award to Mervyn King here in his home country, where his work in corporate governance and integrated reporting has made South Africa a role model for the rest of the world,” said Göran Tidström. “His leadership and achievements have set the bar higher, challenging the profession worldwide to grow and evolve. His contributions have forever changed the way businesses measure and report on their performance, for the betterment of the accountancy profession, the global business community, and society as a whole.”

King’s illustrious and varied career also includes his work as an attorney, arbitrator, mediator, and advisor. He served as a judge in the Supreme Court of South Africa for two years and as the South African judge at the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration in Paris for nine years. He has received numerous academic accolades, including being named Professor Extraordinaire at the University of South Africa in the College of Economic and Management Sciences. He holds an honorary doctor of laws from the University of the Witwatersrand, in addition to numerous honorary appointments and other awards.

About the IFAC International Gold Service Award
The IFAC International Gold Service Award was created by the IFAC Council in 2010 to recognize outstanding individual contributions to the accountancy profession. 

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 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

# # #

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession with members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, along with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Global Public Policy Committee recently concluded the sixth annual Conference for Accounting and Accountability for Regional Economic Growth, or CReCER (Contabilidad y Responsabilidad para el Crecimiento Económico Regional) in Managua, Nicaragua with the support of the Inter-American Accounting Association, an IFAC recognized regional organization. The 2012 CReCER events were hosted and executed by the Colegio de Contadores Públicos de Nicaragua (CCPN), an IFAC member body.

This year’s three-day conference centered on providing quality financial information, which in turn supports economic development, and featured high-level global representatives and leaders in the accountancy profession. Attendance at the conference was high—more than 600 attendees and 80 speakers, including representatives from more than 30 countries from the region and world, participated.

“The discussions and debates that take place at CReCER each year drive strategic objectives and collaborative initiatives for the coming year,” said IFAC Deputy President Warren Allen, who spoke during multiple sessions at CReCER. “This opportunity to discuss how to advance the profession and ensure high-quality financial information in Latin America and the Caribbean is critical and extremely productive.”

The conference received a great deal of support and involvement from the Nicaraguan government. The Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Iván Acosta Montalván, and Dr. Paul Oquist, Minister, Private Secretariat of National Policy, both spoke during two sessions, highlighting the important developments and progress of the Nicaraguan economy and citing the crucial role of high-quality financial information to sustaining future growth. Comandante Bayardo Arce, Economic Advisor to the President of the Republic of Nicaragua, spoke at the closing plenary session, congratulating the CCPN and global partners of the CReCER initiative for holding such a relevant event in Nicaragua. He highlighted the importance of the accounting profession to increasing the transparency and auditability of public finances.

The conference included sessions on implementation of international accounting and auditing standards, integrated reporting, quality assurance and fraud. Additionally, many meetings were held in conjunction with CReCER, including regional standard setters meetings with Arnold Schilder, chairman of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and Andreas Bergmann, chair of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board, and a gathering of the presidents of regional professional accountancy organizations.

Presentations from the conference will be available on the IFAC website soon.

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 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

#   #   #

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) today released for comment two Exposure Drafts related to its project to develop a Conceptual Framework for the general purpose financial reporting of public sector entities. The Conceptual Framework continues to be the IPSASB’s key strategic objective and is of fundamental importance to the future of global public sector standard setting.

Conceptual Framework Exposure Draft (ED) 2, Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities: Elements and Recognition in Financial Statements, refines the issues highlighted in the Consultation Paper published in 2010 and reflects the IPSASB’s consideration of the responses to that Consultation Paper. Elements are the building blocks from which the financial statements are constructed.

The ED proposes definitions of eight elements: assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, deferred inflows, deferred outflows, ownership contributions, and ownership distributions. It also proposes deferred inflows and deferred outflows as elements in order to distinguish the flows related to the reporting period from flows which relate to another reporting period. Deferred inflows and deferred outflows apply to flows that are provided for use in one or more specified reporting periods and are restricted to non-exchange transactions. The ED also considers how to deal with the uncertainty that can arise over the existence and measurement of elements.

Conceptual Framework Exposure Draft (ED) 3, Measurement of Assets and Liabilities in Financial Statements, identifies the measurement concepts that should guide the IPSASB in the selection of measurement bases for International Public Sector Accounting Standards. The ED stresses the importance of selecting measurement bases that meet the objectives of financial reporting-decision making and accountability. Many assets in the public sector are held for their operational capacity and, therefore, entry values that reflect the cost of purchase are likely to be adopted in many situations.

For liabilities that arise from obligations to provide goods and services to citizens and other eligible beneficiaries, the appropriate measurement basis will often be the cost of fulfillment—that is to say, the current cost of meeting the obligations represented by the liability.

“The Conceptual Framework continues to be IPSASB’s main priority and, when finalized, will underpin IPSASB’s standard-setting activities for many years to come,” said IPSASB Chair Andreas Bergmann. “These two Exposure Drafts propose concepts that deal with key aspects of the financial statements—the elements and the appropriate measurement bases. We strongly encourage all stakeholders to submit comments on the two Exposure Drafts.”

How to Comment
To access the Exposure Drafts and the At-a-Glance documents, which provide summaries of the two Exposure Drafts, or to submit a comment, visit the IPSASB website. Comments on the Exposure Drafts are requested by April 30, 2013. The IPSASB encourages IFAC members, associates, and regional accountancy bodies to promote the availability of these documents to their members and employees.

About the IPSASB
The IPSASB develops accounting standards and guidance 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 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

#   #   #

The staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released additional questions and answers (Q&As) to support the adoption and implementation of the IESBA’s Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code). The new Q&As cover issues related to materiality, partner rotation, public interest entities, and network firms, among several other topic areas.

To aid consistent application of the Code, the IESBA monitors the adoption and implementation of the Code to identify areas where support is needed. These Q&As respond to the needs identified.

The 141 member organizations of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession, are required to apply ethical standards at least as stringent as those stated in the Code. (IFAC associates are progressing toward this status.) In addition, under their membership obligations, members of the Forum of Firms, an association of international networks of accounting firms, agree to have policies and methodologies for transnational audits which conform to the Code.

“This publication reinforces the IESBA’s public interest mandate to support the global adoption and implementation of the Code. Globally adopted, high-quality ethics standards, including independence requirements, are vital to promoting sustainable, efficient capital markets,” said IESBA Chair Jörgen Holmquist. “Inconsistent application of the Code could undermine not only our efforts to promote global adoption but also the credibility of the Code itself,” he added. “So promoting consistent implementation is of critical importance.”

The new publication builds on a previous set of Q&As released in 2010 that includes support on the application of the conceptual framework approach, taxation services, related entities, and the definition of key audit partner, among a number of other topics. 

About the IESBA
The IESBA is an independent standard-setting board that develops and issues, in the public interest, high-quality ethical standards and other pronouncements for professional accountants worldwide. Through its activities, the IESBA develops the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, which establishes ethical requirements for professional accountants. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IESBA are facilitated by IFAC. Please visit www.ethicsboard.org for more information.

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 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

# # #