Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be here with you today for the induction of the twenty-third President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants. I would like to congratulate Mr. Indrajith Fernando on his appointment as your new President, and I look forward to working with him in the coming year.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. Before starting my presentation I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and its President for inviting me to speak at this conference. It is a real pleasure to be here in India. India certainly lives up to the promise of the Incredible India! Tourist adverts! Delegates, the object of my presentation is to explain how the International Federation of Accountants, and in particular its Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee, seeks, in collaboration with IFAC member bodies, to help SMPs in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, and elsewhere. Before describing our activities let me open with a few introductory words on the SMP Committee.

Thank you very much for inviting me to participate in this conference. As evidenced by the membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the profession here in India is continuing to grow and thrive. It mirrors, I believe, India's own growth and development.

To talk about the new era of the accountancy profession means talking about its future. It means considering the possible challenges and opportunities. Talking about the future does not necessarily imply the existence of a visible path, a well-defined road, but it does entail the need to define a destination, a goal, an objective. And it has to be a clear one.

As an organized profession, we need to know clearly where we stand and where we want to go. We need to understand our present, our current situation as professional accountants, and we need to analyze the context, so that we are able to face the future with the right understanding and the proper tools.

Thank you very much for inviting me to speak here in India. I am honored to be in the land of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Amartya Sen, Mira Nair, Gayatri Spivak, and so many other great leaders and thinkers. Your intellectual traditions and scientific achievements, including those in mathematics, astronomy, linguistics, and medicine are remarkable and I admire your country for its support of democratic ideals. The American writer Mark Twain has called India "the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition."

As the largest democracy in the world, your struggles and your triumphs are an inspiration for other countries not only in your region but around the world. Your country has made much progress toward economic liberalization and global integration, and I believe that the accountancy profession has played and will continue to play a key role in these processes.

The International Federation of Accountants is proud to count the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) among its 155 members. As a founding member of IFAC, you have demonstrated a long-term commitment to the international accountancy profession and its role in protecting the public interest.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a new information paper that explores the needs of users and preparers of the financial reports of micro-entities. Entitled Micro-Entity Financial Reporting: Perspectives of Preparers and Users, the paper comprises a review of the existing research on the topic, a survey of the legal status of micro-entities in different countries, and the various definitions that exist in different jurisdictions.The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a new information paper that explores the needs of users and preparers of the financial reports of micro-entities. Entitled Micro-Entity Financial Reporting: Perspectives of Preparers and Users, the paper comprises a review of the existing research on the topic, a survey of the legal status of micro-entities in different countries, and the various definitions that exist in different jurisdictions.

The research was prompted by a concern that the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) proposed accounting standard for SMEs, International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs)*, may not be suited to micro-entities, which for the purpose of this study are defined as those with less than ten employees. The IASB's proposed IFRS for SMEs is expected to be released as an exposure draft in late December 2006 or January 2007.

Key challenges and findings with respect to micro-entities include the following:

• The cost/burden implications of new regulation on the smallest entities;
• The issue of enforcing such regulations;
• The increasing demands of users of micro-entity reports; and
• Issues of literacy and training in some developing countries.

The research contained in the paper was undertaken by Dr. Suki Sian of the Cardiff Business School, Wales and Professor Clare Roberts of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. In their findings, the researchers state, "Very little research has been previously conducted looking specifically at micro-entities as these tend to be subsumed in the term SME. Furthermore much of the published literature is restricted to studies conducted in developed countries and does not reflect the very different environment in which micro-entities operate in developing, emerging or transition economies." They conclude that "This gap in the literature indicates that this is an area that is ripe for further in-depth examination and research."

IFAC is considering undertaking further research in this area, in particular, to investigate whether the proposed IFRS for SMEs is likely to meet the needs of users of financial reports of micro-entities. IFAC is also encouraging its member bodies and regional accountancy organizations to respond to the IASB's exposure draft on IFRS for SMEs.

Micro-Entity Financial Reporting: Perspectives of Preparers and Users may be downloaded free-of-charge from the IFAC website.

IFAC is the worldwide 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 155 members and associates in 118 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. IFAC, through its independent standard-setting boards, sets standards on auditing and assurance, ethics, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

* Note to Editors: For more information on the IASB's International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Entities, see the IFRS Foundation website.

Thank you Walter, and ladies and gentlemen, for your warm welcome. It is my pleasure to be here today. Clearly, there is increased interest in XBRL and a growing recognition of the important role it can play in enhancing the integrity and the credibility of financial reporting and auditing. This is evidenced by the attendance here today of all of you and of the participation in this conference of leaders of the accountancy profession, the private sector and government. This historic city of Philadelphia was the site of many important events in the founding of the United States. And this week, Philadelphia again plays host to a revolution - this one, a quiet revolution in the way that we report and audit financial information.

Thank you very much for your kind introduction. I am delighted and honored to speak before this FEE Assembly, among so many leaders of our profession. Your President David Devlin and your Secretary General Henri Olivier have been great supporters of IFAC and its work and for that I am very grateful for this. The more we collaborate, the more we can achieve. I am very much looking forward to working with your incoming President, Jacques Potdevin, and with your new Chief Executive, Olivier Boutellis-Taft.

This information paper presents the findings of research into the preparers, users, and user information needs of micro-entity financial reports. The Small and Medium Practices Committee hopes the paper will inform the debate on whether the proposed International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-Sized Entities will suit micro-entities.

I would like to thank your Chairman, Willem van Wijngaarden, and your Chief Executive, Gert Smit, for inviting me to speak to you today. Gert Smit has been an active supporter of IFAC, serving as a Technical Advisor on the IFAC Board - including at our meeting in Istanbul last week - and I would like to recognize his dedication and commitment to the accountancy profession both here in the Netherlands and globally.

The accountancy profession is standing strong and looking ahead. In recent years, the expectations of our profession have rightfully increased. We have not only met these expectations; we have in many cases exceeded them. We have concentrated on doing what is right and necessary, not for ourselves, but for the public who has entrusted us with their confidence. We have the conviction and the talent to keep working in that direction. The hearts and minds of professional accountants are willing and prepared to respond to the future.