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 PAIB Committee submitted this comment letter to the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)'s Invitation to Comment: Improving the Auditor's Report. Comments from the PAIB Committee draw heavily on Integrating the Business Reporting Supply Chain.

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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IFAC Senior Technical Manager and Head of the Professional Accountants in Business team, Stathis Gould, was invited to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)'s Global Virtual Conference to address sustainability and accountancy. More than 300 people participated in Mr. Gould's session.

At the annual IFAC SMP Forum, delegates convene to learn, debate, and collaborate on a global stage regarding the unique opportunities and challenges facing SMPs and their small- and medium-sized entity (SME) clients. This year’s event attracted over 175 delegates from 33 professional accountancy organizations in 30 countries. 

Program is subject to change. 

The forum is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors: 

Gold Sponsor:

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)  

Silver Sponsors:

• Corpul Expertilor Contabili si Contabililor Autorizati din Romania (CECCAR)
• Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Hong Kong Institute of CPAs)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

Presentation by Paul Thompson, IFAC Deputy Director, SME & SMP Affairs at the Central and South East Europe Regional Forum for Professional Accountancy Organizations co-hosted with the World Bank in Vienna on June 1, 2012. 

Presentation by Sylvia Tsen, Director, Quality and Member Relations, IFAC at the Central and South East Europe Regional Forum for Professional Accountancy Organizations co-hosted with the World Bank in Vienna on June 1, 2012. 

Presentation by Göran Tidström, IFAC president, at the REPARIS Central and South East Europe Regional Forum for Professional Accountancy Organizations co-hosted with the World Bank in Vienna on June 1, 2012.

The PAIB Committee submitted this comment letter to the Institute of Management Accountants on its proposed Conceptual Framework for Managerial Costing. Recommendations include breaking up the document to address concerns regarding length, application of the principles to all organizations, conflicting definitions of accuracy, and a misrepresented diagram from the PAIB Committee's guidance on costing (