Thank-you Mr. Chairman and good morning ladies and gentlemen.
 
Before I start I would just like to say what a privilege and a pleasure it is for me to be able to participate on this panel. I wish to share with you today some of the significant points that IFAC is likely to make in its comment letter to the IASB. While the letter is still a draft many points have already crystallized during the process of its development. And I will outline some of the key findings from a micro-entity financial reporting research project.

Let me frame my comments with some observations. In the recent past, issues impacting small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs) and small-and medium-sized practices (SMPs) have rose to the top of the agenda - of the regulators, professional accountancy bodies, standard setters, and IFAC. The EU simplification initiative is testimony to this - as is the IASB's project to develop an SME accounting standard. It seems the main spur for this emphasis on SME/SMP is concern over regulatory overload, overload that is stifling the ability of small business to innovate, grow and compete. This regulation, including standards of accounting, auditing, and ethics, was often tailored to suit large business. It's no surprise it is ill fitting for small business. The standards sometimes lack relevance to SME/SMP. And SME/SMP often lack the capacity to efficiently implement and comply with them.

In recent years, accountants in the external auditing profession have started assuring corporate sustainability reports. But are accountants adequately trained for this challenge, and do extant standards provide sufficient guidance? This presentation outlines current developments in external assurance on sustainability.

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

Before I start I would just like to say what a privilege and a pleasure it is for me to be able to participate on this panel. I wish to focus my comments on the work of the IFAC Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee that I chair in helping meet the needs of SMPs in this region.

Let me first articulate what my committee suspects are the main issues confronting SMPs in Latin America and the Caribbean.

First, the issue of the relevance of international standards of accounting, assurance, education and ethics to SME/SMP. Some believe these standards are written primarily with large entities in mind resulting in over-regulation of SME/SMP. For example, we fear new auditing standards may undermine the viability of SME audits and SMPs.

Secondly there is the issue of the capacity of SMP/SME to efficiently implement, and comply with, these standards. Small practitioners lack specialist in-house resources and suffer from professional isolation.

Thirdly SMPs are faced with acute problems - increasing competitive pressures, a decreasing amount of staple regulatory work, and operational problems such as staff recruitment and retention and effective networking.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for participating today in this regional conference for the Caribbean and Latin America on accounting and accountability for regional economic growth.

Together with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, it is our intention that this conference provide us the opportunity to identify the principal challenges and questions that the region needs to address and, above all, to permit us to identify concrete solutions and, in some cases, to consider collaborative projects that make these solutions viable or more efficient. ** Note: Attached below are the English and Spanish versions of this speech.

Good evening, ladies and gentleman.

I'm very happy to be here with you all this evening. I am sure you will join me in thanking our hosts, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), for the wonderful dinner this evening. I would like also to thank Allen Blewitt, ACCA's Chief Executive, for the invitation to speak with you this evening.

As indicated in its "European Manifesto," the ACCA shares IFAC's focus on education and training, financial reporting, auditing, small business issues and corporate governance. The manifesto makes an important point that I would like to reiterate: "Forming partnerships is key to shaping the EU's future agenda." In addressing so central an issue as regulation of the profession, I believe that it is vital for IFAC, its 155 member bodies worldwide, and regional organizations like FEE, to work in partnership to shape the agenda. As in so many other matters, collaboration in relation to regulation is essential.

Distinguished guests and dearest colleagues, thank you for the privilege of speaking to you today. This is a great occasion for the Polish accountancy profession: the 100th Anniversary of the Accountants Association in Poland (AAP).

Today's celebration of this institution's centenary of life is an extremely significant event. It is a relevant occasion, especially if you consider all that's happened in the history of the country where this institution has operated during these years.

Good morning and thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. It is a pleasure to meet with staff of the World Bank, with whom we are working ever more closely on the development of the global accountancy profession. One of the reasons for our visit today is to explore with the Bank whether there are areas in which this cooperation could be extended or deepened. Our organizations share a mutual aspiration to contribute to the integral development of the countries around the world. When I speak about integral development, I refer to a development that reaches both the economic, the social and the cultural spheres.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be here with you for this CFO/CFO forum. I would like to thank the new President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA), Mr. Indrajith Fernando, for his kind invitation to address you this morning.

Since its founding in 1984, SAFA has been an example of how regional integration and collaboration can help to strengthen the global profession. so that together we can more effectively contribute to the integral development around the world. When I speak about integral development, I refer to a development that reaches both the economic, the social and the cultural spheres.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to speak before you today on a topic that I think is critical to the well being of Sri Lanka and to other countries both in South Asia and worldwide: that is, the importance of corporate governance in the public sector. It is a topic that is receiving increasing attention from the media, the public and governments themselves, although it has been long been of importance to the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

For twenty years, IFAC has been working to improve the financial reporting and financial management of governments at all levels - national, state and provincial, and local - as well as that of other public sector entities worldwide. The fiscal accountability of governments is central to enhancing economic growth and development worldwide - one of IFAC's most important goals. Failing to hold governments to account, can, I believe, compromise and even jeopardize ongoing private sector initiatives to building and maintaining confidence in the financial reporting process, lead to friction within government management, and, in less stable environments, result in significant citizen unrest.

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.