Idésio S. Coelho became a member of the IFAC Board in November 2016 after being nominated by the Instituto dos Auditores Independentes do Brasil (IBRACON) and Conselho Federal de Contabilidade (CFC).

Mr. Coelho is a Brazilian certified accountant and auditing professional. He is a senior partner leading the risk management for EY in Brazil, where he has worked for more than 30 years. He has experience in local and cross-border listing activities, in quality matters and inspection activities of audit firms.

Mr. Coelho is also a past president of IBRACON and an active member of the Federal Accounting Council (CFC). He is also the Chair of Trustees of the Foundation supporting the Brazilian Accounting Pronouncements Committee (CPC). In his multiple years and roles serving the accounting profession through IBRACON, CFC, and CPC he has supported the convergence and adoption of the International Auditing Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards in Brazil.

Mr. Coelho is graduated from the Fundação Santo André, Brazil with an accountancy degree.

Tommye E. Barie, CPA, joined the IFAC Board in November 2016. She was nominated by the American Institute of CPAs.

Ms. Barie is a recently retired partner of one of the 100 largest full-service accounting and consulting firms in the US. After more than thirty years as an audit and assurance partner, and as her last charge before retirement, she launched the firm’s Client Advisory Services practice.

Ms. Barie recently joined Succession Institute as Executive Vice President of Leadership Development where she works with CPA firms, other small businesses, and CPA state societies, primarily in the areas of succession management, strategy, change management, conflict resolution, team building, people development and leadership.

Ms. Barie has an extensive history of service to the accountancy profession. From 2003-2006 and 2009-present, she served as a member of the American Institute of CPA’s Governing Council and from 2010-2016 she was a member of the AICPA’s Board of Directors. She served as chair of the AICPA Board of Directors for 2014-2015. Ms. Barie previously served as chair of the Florida Institute of CPAs. In 2014, she was recognized as one of the top 100 most influential people in accounting by Accounting Today. She currently serves on the board of the US National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s Center for Public Trust. She also serves on the Board of Advisors for Stetson University’s College of Business.

Ms. Barie received her BBA in Accounting from Stetson University (US).

Two years ago, following the 2014 World Congress of Accountants in Rome, Pope Francis invited thousands of professional accountants to a private audience at the Vatican and challenged the global profession’s leaders to do more in the global fight against fraud and corruption.

As International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) President Olivia F. Kirtley (USA) today prepares to hand her office over to President-Elect Rachel Grimes (Australia), IFAC releases her open letter to His Holiness outlining all that the profession has done to support his call to action.

In his remarks, His Holiness said that in uncertain economic times, “There is a stronger temptation to defend one’s interest without concern for the common good, without paying much heed to justice and legality. For this reason everyone, especially those who practice a profession which deals with the proper functioning of a country’s economic life, is asked to play a positive, constructive role in performing their daily work.”

Ms. Kirtley’s letter stated, “I am pleased to report that following our meeting with you, IFAC has focused on intensifying the profession’s activities in several ways that we believe will have lasting impact in reducing both the supply and demand side of fraud and corruption.”

These efforts have been concentrated across three key fronts:

1. Capacity Building: accelerating the profession’s long-term vision of increasing professional accountancy capacity in developing countries.
2. Governance: greater participation in—and advocacy for—stronger governance across all organizations.
3. Public Sector Financial Management: more transparent and complete public sector financial information, including use of International Public Sector Accounting Standards^™ (IPSAS^™).

“Serving the public interest is at the very heart of IFAC’s mission. Combatting fraud and corruption is clearly a public interest mission where our profession can provide valuable skills and experience,” Ms. Kirtley said.

“We also recognize that this many-decades old fight is one we can’t win alone. There is real need to join forces with other organizations to both make meaningful progress and yield faster results. Combatting this problem requires intense, coordinated action across all civil society institutions. The accountancy profession will continue to vigorously do its part.”

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 more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

The IFAC Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee has made a fundamental change to how it conducts meetings. Gone is the static boardroom-style meeting; in its place are dynamic sessions involving small group discussions and interactive exercises to solicit the knowledge, experiences, and input of all our members and technical advisors from around the world.

IFAC is pleased to respond to the 2017-2019 Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) Strategy Consultation Paper.

As we rapidly approach the 8.5 billion people on Earth expected by 2030, sustainable development challenges, such as inequality and extreme poverty, climate change, and trust in business and government, pose challenges for societies, economies, organizations, and financial markets. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals represent the means to sustain people, planet, and prosperity to 2030, and include a clear call for partnerships between the public, private, and voluntary sectors to address these challenges.

A new report from the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) provides a snapshot of the accountancy profession’s contribution to achieving these Goals. “Accountancy is the basis of strong and sustainable organizations, financial markets, and economies,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer Fayez Choudhury. “It is important for our profession to be conscious of how we contribute, both directly and indirectly, to the Goals. The skillset, experience, and influence professional accountants possess gives them enormous scope to shape solutions to sustainable development challenges.”

“‘Business as usual’ is no longer sustainable—if business ignores the Goals, they do so at their own peril,” said Charles Tilley, Chair of the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business Committee, which contributed to the report, as did the IFAC Professional Accountancy Organization Development Committee. “The public and private sectors should embrace the opportunities presented by the Goals to act in the public interest as well as create value for business and investors. What we do as accountants benefits society and contributes to the resilience of the organizations we work in, both of which are key themes of this publication.”

IFAC looks forward to a continuing dialogue within and beyond the profession on its role in mainstreaming, implementing, and monitoring the Goals, starting with a workshop on this topic at the IFAC Annual Council meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, November 16-17. 

About this Report
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: A Snapshot of the Accountancy Profession’s Contribution highlights the importance of the Goals to business and the profession, and considers how accountancy contributes to eight specific Goals. It features existing activities and initiatives within the profession that support the Goals and poses questions for professional accountancy organizations and professional accountants to consider.

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 more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

As we rapidly approach the 8.5 billion people on Earth expected by 2030, sustainable development challenges, such as inequality and extreme poverty, climate change, and trust in business and government, pose challenges for societies, economies, organizations, and financial markets. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent the means to sustain people, planet, and prosperity to 2030, and include a clear call for partnerships between the public, private, and voluntary sectors to address these challenges.

Are you seeking an exceptional opportunity that combines your understanding of the public interest role of accountancy with your desire to make a difference on a global stage? The high-quality international standards that underpin the global accountancy profession are developed by the independent standard-setting boards, for which today’s Call for Nominations for 2018 is released.

The Call sets out the upcoming opportunities for membership on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB), International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), and International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB).

For 2018, there are 26 vacancies on the independent standard-setting boards—7 each on the IAASB, IESBA, and IAESB, and 5 on the IPSASB. The current member can be re-nominated for 17 of these vacancies and, if considered appropriate, re-appointed for a second term of service.

These volunteer vacancies on the boards are open for nominations by all stakeholders, including professional accountancy and international organizations, governmental agencies, firms, and the public. Nominations of non-accountants for the public member vacancies are strongly encouraged. Travel support is available to qualified candidates from developing nations, self-nominees, and public members.

Candidates should have knowledge of the subject matters considered by a particular board, as well as English proficiency. Each board meets up to four times per year and the required time commitment is approximately 300 to 850 hours per year, depending on the board and task force involvement, including preparation and travel time. Although each candidate will ultimately be selected based on experience, nominations of highly qualified candidates from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America are strongly encouraged. Nominations of female candidates for all boards and from all regions are particularly welcome. For more information on openings and geographic targets of a particular board, please see the Vacancy Overview table on p. 9-12 of the Call.

Nominations can be submitted through the Nominations Database. All nominations need to be submitted before January 31, 2017.

To provide nominating organizations and nominees with some insights on the nominations process and the value of serving on the standard-setting boards, the following documents are available on the Nominating Committee web page: Developing a Nominations Strategy and Giving Back to the Profession: The Value of Serving.

The Nominating Committee follows an open and transparent process with public interest oversight to select the most suitable candidates for the available positions, while also aiming to achieve gender, regional, and professional balance. For more information about the Nominating Committee, its due process, or guidance in selecting the best candidate, please visit the Nominating Committee web page.

About the IAASB
The IAASB is an independent standard-setting board that develops 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 the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

About the IAESB
The IAESB is an independent standard-setting board that develops education standards, guidance, and information papers for use by IFAC member organizations under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IAESB, and the IAESB 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 IAESB are facilitated by IFAC.

About the IESBA
The IESBA is an independent standard-setting board that develops ethical standards and other pronouncements for professional accountants worldwide under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IESBA, and the IESBA Consultative Advisory Group, which provides public interest input into the development of the standards and guidance.. 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.

About the IPSASB
The IPSASB is an independent standard-setting board that develops accounting standards and guidance for use by public sector entities. It receives support (both direct financial and in-kind) from the Government Accounting Standards Board, the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the South African Accounting Standards Board, the New Zealand External Reporting Board, and the governments of Canada, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The IPSASB receives advice from the Public Interest Committee, which promotes the public interest in the IPSASB’s standard-setting activities, and advice from the IPSASB 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 IPSASB are facilitated by IFAC.

About the PIOB
The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) is the global independent oversight body that seeks to improve the quality and public interest focus of the international standards formulated by the IAASB, IAESB and IESBA in the areas of audit and assurance, education, and ethics. Through its oversight activities, the PIOB works to bring greater transparency and integrity to the audit profession, thereby contributing to the enhanced quality of international financial reporting.

About the PIC
The governance and standard-setting activities of the IPSASB are overseen by the Public Interest Committee (PIC), to ensure that they follow due process and reflect the public interest. The PIC is comprised of individuals with expertise in public sector or financial reporting, and professional engagement in organizations that have an interest in promoting high-quality and internationally comparable financial 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. IFAC is comprised of more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

Development partners joined accountancy leaders last week to discuss public financial management (PFM) reforms in Francophone Africa. The leaders attended the Public Financial Management, Strengthening Institutions and Accountability conference, hosted by the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®), Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), Fédération Internationale des Experts Comptables et Commissaires aux Comptes Francophones (FIDEF), World Bank, and African Development Bank.

The leaders evaluated progress since last year’s successful PFM event in Dakar, Senegal, at which participating Finance Ministers pledged to support PFM reforms. They heard that PFM reform progress has been slow across the 18 Francophone Africa countries. The quality of budgeting and financial reporting, and the effectiveness of internal and external auditing and parliamentary oversight, remain poor in the majority of these countries. Delegates underscored the public sector capacity challenge, and recognized many more accounting professionals are required to achieve the desired reform outcomes.

Speaking at the event, IFAC Executive Director, Alta Prinsloo, expressed support for the call issued by FIDEF to review the accountancy profession model in Francophone Africa to ensure it meets the demand for public sector accountancy skills. Under the current model, professional accountancy organization members in Francophone Africa are limited to professional accountants in public practice.

Ms. Prinsloo said, “Our Accountability. Now. message is clear. High-quality public financial reporting supports informed decision making, effective and efficient spending, quality public services, enhanced transparency and accountability, and—ultimately—increased trust in government. The demand for accountancy skills necessary to produce high-quality public sector financial reporting is both a public interest obligation, and an opportunity for professional accountancy organizations in Francophone Africa.”

About IFAC
The International Federation of Accountants (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 more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.