The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), first signed in 2009.

The MoU creates a cooperation process to enable valuers and auditors to obtain a better mutual understanding of standards relevant to financial statements, and will help both organizations pursue their objective of maintaining confidence in business reporting in both the public and private sectors. Actions under the MoU are also designed to promote the credibility and acceptability of valuations prepared in accordance with the International Valuation Standards.

The MoU reflects the IVSC’s and IFAC’s shared conviction that the transparency provided by high-quality international standards contributes significantly to the effective functioning of capital markets and economic growth.  The MoU acknowledges the ongoing working relationships between the IVSC, IFAC, and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), which is supported by IFAC. The MoU also anticipates closer working relationships between IVSC and other IFAC activity groups.

Roel Campos, Interim Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the IVSC, states, “This agreement to renew the earlier Memorandum of Understanding represents an ongoing commitment by both IVSC and IFAC to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations. It demonstrates the cohesive and united approach of the IVSC, IFAC, and its independent standard-setting boards to maintaining standards as global markets continue to develop.”

“The ongoing financial crisis has shown the importance of transparency in financial reporting by both private and public sector entities,” said Göran Tidström, president of IFAC.  “The IVSC has served as a member of the IAASB’s Consultative Advisory Group, and the organizations are both members of the Private Sector Task Force (PSTF). This agreement strengthens the already close ties between the IVSC and IFAC and will serve as a platform for further cooperation.”

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.

About the IVSC
The IVSC is an independent, not-for-profit, private sector organization. As the established international standard setter for valuation, the IVSC develops and maintains standards for the reporting and disclosure of valuations, especially those that will be relied upon by investors and other third party stakeholders. It also supports the need to develop a framework of guidance on best practice for valuations of the various classes of assets and liabilities and for the consistent delivery of the standards by properly trained professionals around the globe.

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Two new signatories were welcomed to MOSAIC (Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Accountancy and Improve Collaboration) this week at the second Steering Committee Meeting held in London, UK, hosted by the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria have agreed to become a part of this groundbreaking initiative working to strengthen professional accountancy organizations (PAOs), improve financial reporting, management, and auditing in both the public and private sectors, and positively impact economic growth and poverty reduction around the world.

The second meeting of the MOSAIC Steering Committee offered an opportunity for presentation and discussion of the draft PAO Global Development Report. Co-financed by the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank, this report provides MOSAIC signatories and observers with a global view of PAO development; insight into the key trends, challenges, and success factors facing their progress; and a shared starting point to guide future MOSAIC activities. Agenda topics also included potential initial activities for MOSAIC support and coordination and establishment of a permanent MOSAIC Secretariat.

“As MOSAIC grows in strength and number, we are able to see how and where the international development agenda can support PAOs in developing and emerging economies, which, in turn, provides an essential platform for sound financial reporting and economic growth,” said Deborah Williams, co-chair of the MOSAIC Steering Committee and chair of the IFAC PAO Development Committee.

“MOSAIC seeks to support the development of the entirety of the accountancy profession—in both the public and private sectors at the professional accountant and accounting technician levels,” said Tony Hegarty, co-chair of the MOSAIC Steering Committee and chief financial management officer at the World Bank.

MOSAIC was launched in November 2011 by IFAC and 10 signatories from the donor community to increase coordination and provide the foundation for increasing capacity of PAOs.

About MOSAIC
MOSAIC (Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Accountancy and Improve Collaboration) sets out the basis for improving cooperation and collaboration between IFAC, international donors, and the international development community. It provides the foundation for increasing the capacity of professional accountancy organizations and improving the quality of financial management systems in emerging economies. IFAC, the global organization for the accountancy profession, serves as the Interim Secretariat for MOSAIC.

La Federación Internacional de Contadores (IFAC) y sus organismos miembros Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España, Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Económicas e Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Públicos acordaron formalmente establecer un marco de cooperación iberoamericana con el objeto de lograr procesos sostenibles a más largo plazo para la realización de una traducción única al español de las normas internacionales y otras publicaciones de la IFAC.

El acuerdo se celebró mediante una ceremonia formal de firmas de la que participó la Asociación Interamericana de Contabilidad, que representa la organización regional de la IFAC para América Latina y el Caribe.

“Si se tiene en cuenta la importancia del idioma español en cuanto a la adopción e implementación de las normas internacionales a nivel global, el establecimiento formal de este acuerdo de cooperación constituye un acontecimiento de suma relevancia”, expresó el Director General de la IFAC, Ian Ball. “A través del trabajo en conjunto, debemos ser capaces de lograr mucho más de lo que cualquiera de nuestras organizaciones podría hacer por sí sola. Consideramos que este proyecto redundará en beneficios para toda la profesión contable y de auditoría, y agradecemos enormemente las valiosas contribuciones de nuestros organismos miembros y nuestra organización regional al respecto”.

A principios de este año, la IFAC celebró la realización de una traducción única al español del Manual de Normas Internacionales de Auditoría y Control de Calidad publicado por el Consejo de Normas Internacionales de Auditoría y Aseguramiento, y del Código de Ética para Profesionales de la Contabilidad, publicado por el Consejo de Normas Internacionales de Ética para Contadores. Estas dos publicaciones traducidas fueron el resultado de un esfuerzo en conjunto de los grupos mencionados anteriormente, en colaboración con otros organismos miembros de habla hispana de la IFAC y otros interesados clave.

Para obtener más información sobre el idioma español u otras traducciones, visite la Base de datos de traducciones de la IFAC.

Acerca de la IFAC
La IFAC es la organización mundial para la profesión contable que se dedica a servir el interés público mediante el fortalecimiento de la profesión y la contribución al desarrollo de economías internacionales fuertes. La IFAC está compuesta por 167 miembros y asociados de 127 países y jurisdicciones, que representan a aproximadamente 2,5 millones de contadores en la práctica pública y en sectores como la educación, el Gobierno, la industria y el comercio.

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The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and its member bodies Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España, Federación Argentina de Consejos Profesionales de Ciencias Económicas, and Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Públicos formally agreed to establish an Ibero-American cooperation framework to achieve longer-term, sustainable processes for a single, Spanish translation of international standards and other IFAC publications.

The agreement was commemorated with a formal signing ceremony that included the Interamerican Accounting Association, IFAC’s regional organization for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Taking into account the significance of the Spanish language in relation to global adoption and implementation of international standards, this formal establishment of a cooperation framework is a very important milestone,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer Ian Ball.

“Working collaboratively we should be able to achieve much more than any one of our organizations could do alone. We believe that this project will be of great benefit to the global accounting and auditing profession and we are extremely grateful for the valuable contributions of our member bodies and our regional organization in this regard,” he added

Earlier this year, IFAC welcomed the single Spanish translation of the Handbook of International Standards on Auditing and Quality Control, issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants. Both of these translated publications were a result of the cooperative efforts of the aforementioned groups, in collaboration with other Spanish-speaking IFAC member bodies and key stakeholders.

For more information on Spanish-language or other translations, please visit the IFAC Translations Database.

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.

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The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) today released for comment the Consultation Paper (CP), IPSASs and Government Finance Statistics Reporting Guidelines. The Consultation Paper was developed by a task force that includes representation from both the IPSASB and the statistical community, including international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and Eurostat, and national representatives from Brazil, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Switzerland.

The Consultation Paper aims to help reduce differences between Government Finance Statistics (GFS) reporting guidelines and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs). It provides an overview of differences between GFS reporting guidelines and IPSASs, and identifies opportunities to reduce these differences for consideration by either the IPSASB or the statistical community.

The Consultation Paper also aims to support governments’ use of integrated financial information systems that can generate both IPSAS financial statements and GFS reports. Using a single integrated financial information system can result in significant benefits, including reduction of GFS report preparation time, costs, and effort. Improvements are also likely to the source data for GFS reports, with flow-on benefits in terms of report quality.

Use of audited financial reporting data prepared on an accrual basis will substantially improve the data used for the preparation of GFS reports and therefore for policy making. The use of high-quality upstream data is a matter of urgency, considering the issues which led to the sovereign debt crisis.

“Both governments’ general purpose financial reports and their financial statistics on the general government sector provide important information about governments’ finances,” said IPSASB Chair Andreas Bergmann. “This Consultation Paper shows that there is further scope to reduce differences between IPSASs and GFS reporting guidelines, with benefits to the users of both types of reports. It also proposes practical ways that governments can improve their management of such differences, so as to efficiently generate data for both their IPSAS financial statements and GFS reports from the same integrated financial information system.”

How to Comment
To access the Consultation Paper and the At-a-Glance document, which provides a summary, or to submit a comment, please visit the IPSASB website. Comments are requested by March 31, 2013. The IPSASB encourages IFAC members, associates, and regional accountancy bodies to promote the availability of this Consultation Paper 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. 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.

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In recognition of their shared vision for the evolution of corporate reporting, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation, coordination, and alignment.

Integrated Reporting (“<IR>”) is the language for sustainable business. It is the means by which companies communicate how value is created and will be preserved over the short, medium, and long term. This information is used principally by investors to support their capital allocation decisions. It involves processes, one result of which is communication, most visibly through a concise “integrated report,” about the way in which an organization’s strategy, governance, performance, and prospects lead to the creation and preservation of value.

<IR> represents an evolution in corporate reporting, building on recent developments in financial and non-financial reporting. Through this MoU, IFAC and the IIRC recognize the opportunities that exist to work more closely together to promote, support, and contribute to the realization of mutual interests.

“There are inherent synergies between the work of IFAC and the IIRC in support of an internationally accepted framework for integrated reporting,” according to IFAC Chief Executive Officer Ian Ball. “Traditional financial reporting alone is no longer enough information for investors and stakeholders. A more complete picture is needed, and the work of the IIRC will help guide organizations to achieve this.”

Commenting on the signing of the MoU, IIRC Chief Executive Officer Paul Druckman said: “The ability of business to measure and communicate what really matters is an increasing demand of investors and other users of corporate information.  <IR> enables a business to tell its value creation story in a way that gets to the heart of what makes the business tick today and in the future. 

“The accountancy profession globally has a vital role to play in providing confidence in the validity of both the narrative and the numbers that businesses must disclose to secure investment and provide transparency.  This MoU underscores the value that both IFAC and the IIRC place in this continued partnership, and its role in helping to secure an evolution in corporate reporting that supports efficient and productive capital markets, and a more sustainable global economy.”

IFAC, as the global organization for the accountancy profession and representing 167 professional accountancy organizations around the world, has a mandate to speak for the accountancy profession and to facilitate the development and adoption of high-quality, international standards of accounting and auditing as well as serve the public interest.

The IIRC’s mission is to create the globally accepted <IR> Framework that elicits from organizations material information about their strategy, governance, performance and prospects in a clear, concise and comparable format.  The Framework will underpin and accelerate the evolution of corporate reporting, reflecting developments in financial, governance, management commentary and sustainability reporting.  The IIRC will seek to secure the adoption of <IR> by report preparers and gain the recognition of standard setters and investors. Through cooperation, IFAC and IIRC will enhance their respective missions and strategic goals.

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. IFAC President Göran Tidström is a member of the IIRC and IFAC Chief Executive Officer Ian Ball is the chairman of the IIRC’s Working Group. Additionally, IFAC provides staff support for the development of the <IR> Framework.

About IIRC
The IIRC is a global coalition of regulators, investors, companies, standard setters, the accountancy profession and NGOs. Together, this coalition shares the view that the communication of value (applying <IR>) should be the next step in the evolution of corporate reporting. The International <IR> Framework is being developed in consultation with standard setters and regulators to encourage a consistent evolution in the standards, regulation and practice of corporate reporting.

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Over 50 senior audit professionals from 23 international networks of accounting firms met today to contribute their perspectives on proposed revisions to auditor reporting. The symposium, organized by the Forum of Firms, assembled a group of experts to discuss the proposals outlined in the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)’s public consultation, Invitation to Comment: Improving the Auditor’s Report (ITC).

Participants representing various jurisdictions and network sizes lent a variety of perspectives to the lively debate on the ITC proposals. “The symposium gave us the opportunity to collectively gain a deeper understanding of the proposals and consider the practical implications for implementation and related consequences for audit quality. The interactions raised awareness while also providing a unique opportunity for direct practitioner interaction with the IAASB on a topic that runs to the core of the auditing profession,” said David Maxwell, chair of the Transnational Auditors Committee.

Each panel discussion commenced with an overview of the existing landscape, overall summary of the relevant ITC proposals, and early indicative feedback collected by the IAASB to date. The first of two panels, Auditor Commentary—Moving Beyond Boilerplate, then explored the proposal to add a section to the standard auditor’s report on auditor commentary. The second panel, Going Concern and Other Information—Making Auditors’ Implicit Messages Explicit, focused on the call from investors to provide more information about the auditor’s responsibilities. The symposium concluded with an opportunity for participants to give their reactions to the remainder of the ITC’s proposals and the likelihood they will achieve the goal of making financial statement users understand more about the audit.

"The auditor’s report is a critical outcome from the audit, playing an important role in public confidence in audited financial statements. The Forum of Firms welcomes open discussion and debate that will contribute to enhanced audit quality,” said Robert Dohrer, chair, Forum of Firms. “It is essential that all audit firms be engaged in the global debate on audit quality so that we can consider how we, as practitioners, can better contribute to its advancement.”

About the Forum of Firms
The Forum of Firms is an association of networks of international accounting firms that perform transnational audits. Members of the Forum have committed to adhere to and promote the consistent application of high-quality audit practices worldwide, including the use of International Standards on Auditing, and the maintenance of appropriate quality control standards in accordance with International Standards on Quality Control issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. Through their organizations, members also conduct globally coordinated internal quality assurance reviews on a regular basis and have policies and methodologies that conform to the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The Transnational Auditors Committee is the Executive Committee of the Forum of Firms and a committee of the International Federation of Accountants.

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.

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In support of its commitment to explore standards for services that meet the unique needs of small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs), the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) today released International Standard on Review Engagements (ISRE) 2400 (Revised), Engagements to Review Historical Financial Statements. ISRE 2400 (Revised) follows the release earlier in 2012 of International Standard on Related Services (ISRS) 4410 (Revised), Compilation Engagements, a standard also addressing services of particular relevance to SMEs.

“An important aspect of the IAASB’s strategic focus in recent years has been our response to the growing demand for assurance services, other than the financial statement audit, that help enhance the credibility of SMEs’ financial statements,” noted Prof. Arnold Schilder, IAASB chairman. “In light of this demand, it is fundamental that there be robust standards to support a diverse range of services for this important stakeholder group. ISRE 2400 (Revised) is an important contribution to this aim.”

Review engagements are of particular relevance for entities that are not required, or do not elect, to have an audit, but wish to enhance the credibility of, and confidence in, their unaudited financial statements among their users through practitioner involvement. The practitioner’s report when a review engagement has been conducted in accordance with ISRE 2400 (Revised) describes whether anything has come to the practitioner's attention that causes the practitioner to believe the financial statements are not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework. A review is a limited assurance engagement, however, and the procedures performed are substantially less than those performed in an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. Accordingly, the practitioner's review engagement report does not express an audit opinion on the financial statements.

“This standard enhances both the value and performance of review engagements. Through strengthened requirements and additional guidance, it helps ensure there is sufficient appropriate evidential support for the practitioner’s conclusion on the financial statements and further promotes high-quality engagements,” explained James Gunn, IAASB technical director.

The revised standard is effective for reviews of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 31, 2013. An At a Glance publication provides an overview of the revised standard.

About the IAASB
The IAASBdevelops 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 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. 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.

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The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession, today issued Policy Position Paper 6, Global Regulatory Convergence and the Accountancy Profession.

Continued efforts to sustain global regulatory convergence are critical for the evolution of a sound, global financial system. Convergence assists in providing solutions to problems highlighted by the global financial crisis and contributes to greater economic certainty and financial stability. To be effective, global convergence requires the support of a broad range of key stakeholders—including politicians, governments, regulatory bodies, and professional accounting organizations—at the national and international levels.

“Global convergence is a significant issue in the current debate about regulatory reform and responses to the financial and sovereign debt crises,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer Ian Ball. “Crucially, convergence helps users compare financial information, minimizes the effects of systemic economic risks, reduces information costs, and decreases opportunities for regulatory arbitrage.”

IFAC believes that the global public interest is best served by consistent global adoption and implementation of high-quality, internationally accepted financial reporting, auditing, assurance, public sector accounting, accounting education, and ethics standards (including independence requirements for auditors), and by use of these standards for reporting financial information for capital and debt markets. The process of convergence involves national and regional standard setters and regulators either adopting international standards or modifying their own standards to achieve consistency with agreed global norms.

In addition, the public interest is served when regulatory arrangements involving auditor registration and licensing requirements, the public oversight of auditors of public interest entities, and arrangements that promote greater cross-border trade-in-services are globally consistent and based on cooperation and mutual recognition.

“Successful global solutions require national governments and regulators to avoid the temptation to implement legislative and regulatory reforms without considering the global agenda, and without a serious commitment to cooperating with national and international counterparts,” continued Mr. Ball. "Reforms that have extra-territorial impacts, or regulatory actions that require entities to potentially violate or bypass the laws of other countries, exacerbate current problems in the global financial system."

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.

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The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released for public exposure new requirements that address a professional accountant’s responsibilities regarding the disclosure of suspected illegal acts committed by a client or employer. The proposals describe the circumstances in which a professional accountant is required or expected to breach confidentiality, one of the five fundamental principles in the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code), and disclose the act to an appropriate authority.

The Exposure Draft (ED), Responding to a Suspected Illegal Act, proposes adding two new sections addressing illegal acts to the Code—one each for professional accountants in public practice and professional accountants in business—and several revisions to other related sections. The new sections clearly delineate the expected course of action for a professional accountant to take if those charged with governance do not respond to the issue appropriately.

“Breaching confidentiality is not something to be taken lightly,” said Jörgen Holmquist, chair of the IESBA. “However, when the consequences of non-disclosure are potentially harmful to individuals or society, confidentiality must be overridden. Accountants have an important role to play in protecting the public interest and enabling authorities to take appropriate action.”

How to Comment
The IESBA invites all stakeholders to comment on its proposals in the ED, Responding to a Suspected Illegal Act. To submit a comment, visit the IESBA website at www.ethicsboard.org. Comments on the ED are requested by December 15, 2012.

About the IESBA
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (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. 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.