The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) welcomes the U.S. SEC’s proposal on enhanced climate disclosures, as we continue our work in support of a global system for delivering consistent, comparable and assurable sustainability information.  The SEC’s action is one more important demonstration of the need to enhance and evolve corporate reporting.

Sustainability-related disclosure is now a core component of the corporate reporting ecosystem, as reflected in global and jurisdiction-specific initiatives.  Climate and other ESG matters are decision critical.  Regulatory frameworks must promote rigor, clarity, and consistency of information, both to meet investor demands and those of other stakeholders. 

The SEC’s proposal also acknowledges the importance of high-quality assurance—to bring confidence and trust to what is disclosed.  This is consistent with the work of IOSCO at the global level, which has identified independent assurance as a “key element of building trust in sustainability reporting.”  See IFAC’s Vision for High-Quality Assurance of Sustainability Information.

IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey said, “This SEC proposal allows policymakers and stakeholders worldwide to compare and contrast important initiatives that are taking place on climate-related disclosure, including the work of the newly established International Sustainability Standards Board under the IFRS Foundation, that of the European Union, and others. 

“Alignment among all these initiatives is imperative for decision-useful information. It’s critical that we create a harmonized, global system of sustainability and climate disclosure and avoid a patchwork of standards and regulations emerging across jurisdictions.  IFAC also supports regulations that promote narrative as well as performance-focused measurements and that better align sustainability disclosure with financial reporting.”

Read more about IFAC’s support for global sustainability-related standards on the IFAC website.

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 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today released a new resource, Exploring the IESBA Code, A Focus on Technology: Artificial Intelligence. This two-page publication highlights the application of the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code), in particular, the relevance of the Code’s fundamental principles and its conceptual framework to addressing ethics issues that might arise when artificial intelligence (AI) is used or implemented by professional accountants. Specifically, the installment sets out an AI scenario to assist accountants in identifying, evaluating and addressing threats to compliance with the Code’s fundamental principles.

Originally launched in 2019, the Exploring the IESBA Code is a unique resource developed in collaboration with the staff of the IESBA. This installment focusing on AI has also benefited from input from the IESBA’s Technology Working Group. The Exploring the IESBA Code series is intended to promote awareness of the Code and support its global adoption and implementation. It is non-authoritative and is not a substitute for reading the Code. Each installment highlights important concepts and topics in the Code and seeks to help readers understand how to use and navigate the Code so that they can quickly identify and access the ethics and independence standards and guidance relevant to them.

Previous installments have been translated into multiple languages. Topics previously covered by the series include: the fundamental principles, the conceptual framework, auditor independence, conflicts of interest, inducements, responding to non-compliance with laws and regulations (NOCLAR), pressure, the role and mindset expected of the professional accountant with a focus on bias, and the “building blocks” structure of the Code. Click here to access this and previous installments.

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 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

About IESBA

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is an independent global standard-setting board. The IESBA’s mission is to serve the public interest by setting ethics standards, including auditor independence requirements, which seek to raise the bar for ethical conduct and practice for all professional accountants through a robust, globally operable International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code).

IAASB’s second disruptive technologies roundtable was held in February 2022. The roundtable was part of the IAASB’s ongoing exploration of disruptive technologies. These technologies already affect the audit and assurance profession with potential for even greater affects in the future.

This Exploring the IESBA Code installment focuses on technology and specifically Artifical Intelligence. 

To view all installments of Exploring the IESBA Code, visit the series landing page here.

For more information about the Code, click here.

About the IPSASB 

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) works to strengthen public financial management globally through developing and maintaining accrual-based International Public Sector Accounting Standards® (IPSAS®) and other high-quality financial reporting guidance for use by governments and other public sector entities. It also raises awareness of IPSAS and the benefits of accrual adoption. The Board receives support from the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the New Zealand External Reporting Board, and the governments of Canada and New Zealand. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IPSASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). For copyright, trademark, and permissions information, please go to permissions or contact permissions@ifac.org.  

Together with ICAEW, The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today released a new installment in its Anti-Money Laundering: The Basics educational series: Installment Seven: Virtual Assets.  

The publication is part of a series helping accountants enhance their understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest. Installment seven looks at the broad new class of assets that have emerged over the past decade known as virtual assets, including Bitcoin and NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

Anti-Money Laundering: The Basics is user-friendly, easily accessible, and will be a resource for Small and Medium Practices (SMPs) and accountants less familiar with AML, while also providing guidance for those looking for a quick refresher or reference. Future installments will examine trends in money laundering and tools to fight back illegal activities.

Anti-Money Laundering: The Basics is featured on both the IFAC (landing page) and ICAEW websites and available for download for free. To be globally relevant, the series uses the risk-based approach of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog -- as a starting point. 

For more information about IFAC, visit www.ifac.org.

For more information about ICAEW, visit https://www.icaew.com/.

This is the seventh installment in the Anti-Money Laundering, The Basics series.

The series provides professional accountants with a better understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest. 

This paper is the third of four thought leadership pieces that build on a collaborative exploratory paper and global roundtable event held jointly with Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), entitled Ethical Leadership in an Era of Complexity and Digital Change. The exploratory paper, a summary of the event, and an on-demand recording are available here.