IFAC Senior Technical Manager Vincent Tophoff was invited to give a presentation on risk management and internal control in the public sector to the US Interagency Council on Enterprise Risk Management at the White House Conference Center in Washington, DC. The audience was comprised of risk management and internal control managers throughout the various US federal departments and agencies, including the US Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget.

IFAC raises questions about the claims made in the article, "The Virtues of Mandatory Audit Rotation," and focuses the debate on evidence-based measures to further enhance audit quality--and ultimately the quality of financial reporting--as well as regulatory consistency across jurisdictions.

The Call for Nominations for the IFAC Board and Committees in 2016 was issued today by the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®), the global organization for the accountancy profession with more than 175 members and associates in 130 countries. The Call for Nominations sets out the upcoming opportunities for membership on the IFAC Board, its Compliance Advisory Panel, and four committees—Professional Accountancy Organization Development, Professional Accountants in Business, Small and Medium Practices, and Nominating.

For 2016, there are 31 vacancies on the Board and committees, including the chair of the Compliance Advisory Panel. All vacancies on the Board and committees are open for nominations by IFAC members.

“IFAC attracts extremely qualified individuals with wide-ranging expertise to serve on its Board and committees,” said IFAC President Olivia Kirtley. “The expertise and authority these volunteers bring with them are critical to IFAC and achieving our strategic goals. We thank all our members for their continued support and look forward to receiving their nominations.”

The Nominating Committee encourages all IFAC members to review the Call for Nominations, including the detailed information regarding open vacancies, composition targets, specific membership qualifications, and requirements. The Call also offers strategic guidance in selecting candidates, including identifying the most qualified nominee for each available position.

Nominations can be submitted through the Nominations Database (instructions are included in the Call for Nominations). All nominations should be submitted before March 15, 2015; any submitted after March 15, 2015 will be reviewed at the discretion of the Nominating Committee. Additional information on the Nominating Committee and its open, transparent process is available on the Nominating Committee web page.

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 more than 175 members and associates in 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

Good governance is fundamental to the effective functioning of the world’s capital markets and to organizations in creating sustainable value for their stakeholders. IFAC strongly believes that the ultimate objective of governance is to ensure the creation of sustainable organizational success and stakeholder value; these are the core elements of every organization that strives to be competitive and sustainable over the long term.

IFAC believes good governance, risk management, and internal control are fundamental to the effective functioning of the world’s capital markets and to organizations, including banks in particular, in creating sustainable value for their stakeholders. Overall, IFAC welcomes enhancements to the Basel Principles as they aim to strengthen risk governance, clarify the role of the board of directors in this regard, emphasize board competence, provide guidance for bank supervisors, and point out the influence of compensation systems.

La Federación Internacional de Contadores^® (IFAC^®) -la organización global para la profesión contable, dedicada a servir el interés público- ha emitido ocho recomendaciones para apoyar el crecimiento económico y la resiliencia global, para su consideración en la próxima Cumbre de los Líderes del G-20 en Brisbane, Australia, en noviembre 15-16.

Las ocho recomendaciones de la IFAC para permitir lograr un crecimiento sólido, sostenible y equilibrado, se enfocan en tres temas centrales:

• La consistencia global para estándares y regulación financieros para informes y auditoría;
• Gestión financiera, informes, transparencia y responsabilidad gubernamental mejorados; y
• Sistemas fiscales efectivos.

Fayez Choudhury, director ejecutivo de la IFAC, comentó: "La IFAC entiende que para apoyar realmente el crecimiento económico global, la estabilidad y la resiliencia a largo plazo, los gobiernos y el sector privado deben primero 'tener las cifras correctas.' Nuestras recomendaciones detalladas tienen como objetivo recobrar el impulso hacia una regulación y adopción consistente de los estándares y requerimientos de información financiera internacional, auditoría e independencia del auditor de alta calidad, mejorando la transparencia del sector público y privado y reduciendo la opacidad tributaria. 

"Hemos evidenciado demasiadas veces a lo largo de la historia cómo cifras erróneas, y las decisiones que impactan, pueden desatar la estabilidad económica global. La crisis financiera más reciente generó mucho interés global en la atención a prestar por fin a la necesidad de una regulación internacionalmente consistente y apropiada que permita evitar crisis futuras. El impulso se ha disipado y necesitamos recobrarlo. La acción gubernamental unilateral está creando una mayor divergencia, lo que no presenta buen augurio frente a la respuesta global coordinada a la próxima crisis.”

"De ser adoptadas, nuestras recomendaciones servirían el interés público al presentar la integridad -en el reconocimiento, la medición, el procesamiento y el reporte de transacciones financieras- como el fundamento de las cifras en las cuales confían los decisores para mantener el rendimiento económico y la cohesión social.”

"Las habilidades y la experiencia de la profesión contable son esenciales para potenciar la estabilidad económica, fortalecer los sistemas financieros y la arquitectura, y promover la responsabilidad y la sostenibilidad y crecimiento a largo plazo. Hemos propuesto a los líderes del G-20, ocho recomendaciones efectivas y prácticas que se enfocan en proteger y servir al interés público global. De ser adoptadas, estas recomendaciones mejorarían significativamente la estabilidad económica global," comentó.

Acerca de IFAC
IFAC es la organización global para la profesión contable, dedicada a servir el interés público a través del fortalecimiento de la profesión y contribuir en el desarrollo de economías internacionales sólidas. La IFAC se compone de 179 miembros y asociados en 130 países y territorios, representando aproximadamente a 2,5 millones de contadores en la práctica pública, la educación, el gobierno, la industria y el comercio.