IFAC CEO Ian Ball comments on the FT's commentary – as well as the policy debate – on the sovereign debt crisis.

IFAC Staff members recently visited Beirut, Lebanon on the invitation of the Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants (LACPA) to educate its Board of Directors and membership following recent changes in leadership.

IFAC staff held a number of meetings with LACPA leadership, general membership, and key counterparts of LACPA. Most importantly, IFAC Staff held two five-hour meetings--the first meeting with the Board of LACPA. This meeting covered not only the details of the SMOs, but included a working session for the Board, which identified and considered best practices and potential solutions which may facilitate LACPA compliance with IFAC SMOs and the finalization of an Action Plan.

The second meeting worked to raise awareness of the importance of the SMOs and to garner support among the general membership for the need for reform in-line with IFAC SMOs. One hundred and twenty participants attended this meeting to hear a formal powerpoint presentation on the SMOs and participate in an open discussion forum focused on LACPA’s leadership proposed plans to address areas of weakness.

This paper outlines the rationale for the regulatory arrangements put in place for setting international standards for auditing and assurance, ethics, and accounting education; arrangements in which responsibility is shared between the public sector and the private sector. Current arrangements for international standard setting, which encompass a combination of public and private sector roles, provide a structure and process that operate and are seen to operate in the public interest, in a context in which there are needs for legitimacy, independence, transparency, performan

High-quality performance by professional accountants benefits the economy and society by contributing to the efficient allocation and management of resources in both the private and public sectors and to the operation of financial and capital markets, and through both of these to the production of goods and services.

The PAO Development Committee, in coordination with the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants and with the generous support of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, held the Middle East North Africa (MENA) Professional Accountancy Organization (PAO) Development Roundtable Workshop in Dubai, UAE on September 20, 2011.

The workshop brought together PAO representatives from across the Middle East and North Africa to discuss the importance of PAOs in financial sector and economic growth; the importance of IFAC Statements of Member Obligation (SMOs); the role of the IFAC Action Plan process in strengthening PAO strategic planning and development; and the challenges and success factors for the development of PAOs in the region. This event drew 30 participants from 11 national-level PAOs, three local branches of global PAOs, UAE stakeholder organizations, aspiring regional organizations, and the World Bank.