The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) warmly welcomes the appointment of Rodrigo Buenaventura as new Secretary General of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and congratulates IOSCO on the announcement.

Lee White, Chief Executive Officer of IFAC, said: "IOSCO is one of IFAC’s most important global partners. Rodrigo’s appointment to Secretary General provides an exciting opportunity to deepen our collaboration, and to strengthen our relationship on behalf of the global accountancy profession.”

Mr. Buenaventura currently serves as Chair of the Spanish Securities and Markets Commission (CNMV).  He is a member of the IOSCO Board and the Board of Supervisors of ESMA.  He also serves as Chair of the IOSCO Sustainable Finance Task Force, Vice-chair of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee and Chair of the ESMA Markets Standing Committee.

“With his extensive experience in securities regulation, corporate governance, and sustainable finance, there is no doubt that Rodrigo will add meaningfully to IOSCO’s important work in sustainability reporting and assurance and integrity in Carbon Markets, among other areas. I have worked closely with Rodrigo over a number of years, and look forward to working closely with him into the future.

“I also wish to recognize the outstanding contributions of Tajinder Singh in his role as Acting Secretary General, and in his ongoing role of Deputy Secretary General, and I look forward to continuing to work together,” said Mr. White.

IFAC, an Affiliate Member of IOSCO and the sole representative of the accountancy profession, shares with IOSCO a longstanding commitment to promoting high-quality financial reporting and audit, high-quality sustainability reporting and assurance, good corporate governance, and broader investor protection. 

About IFAC

IFAC, by connecting and uniting its members, makes the accountancy profession truly global.

IFAC member organizations are champions of integrity and professional quality, and proudly carry their membership as a badge of international recognition.

IFAC and its members work together to shape the future of the profession through learning, innovation, a collective voice, and commitment to the public interest.

Jan Jaap Boontjes is Manager International Affairs and Strategic Advisor at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants (NBA). He has extensive experience in representing the interests of the profession to a broad range of stakeholders, both nationally and internationally.

He joined the NBA in 2016 as Manager Public Affairs. From 2020 to 2022, he worked for the Dutch Ministry of Finance as a senior policy advisor, where he was involved in audit reform legislation and served as secretary to the 'Quartermasters for the Future of the Accountancy Sector.'

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the voice of the global accountancy profession, has announced the election of Jean Bouquot as its President. Mr. Bouquot will serve a two-year term through November 2026, having served previously as IFAC Deputy President since November 2022.

“It is my honor to serve as IFAC President,” said Mr. Bouquot. “Together with my fellow Board members, I will work on behalf of all IFAC members, convene the profession and its stakeholders to highlight the role and activities of IFAC, and always advance the profession in the public interest.”

Mr. Bouquot joined the IFAC Board in November 2020, nominated by Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (CNCC) and Conseil National de l'Ordre des Experts-Comptables (CNOEC). During his term as CNCC President and together with the CNCC Board, he led reforms that significantly strengthened the French audit profession. Mr. Bouquot was also the President and Deputy President of the Compagnie Régionale des Commissaires aux Comptes de Versailles et du Centre (CRCC Versailles). He is currently a Board member of the Fédération Internationale des Experts-comptables et commissaires aux Francophones (FIDEF), an IFAC Network Partner organization.

Mr. Bouquot has over 44 years of experience as an auditor in various positions at EY with wide exposure to international activities. He currently runs his own small firm in Paris, France.

Taryn Rulton Named IFAC Deputy President

IFAC also announced the election of Taryn Rulton as its Deputy President. Ms. Rulton joined the Board in November 2020.

Ms. Rulton has over 30 years of experience across the United Kingdom and Australia. She brings a diverse background that involves the banking industry, Big-4 firms (KPMG & EY), government, private companies, NGOs, and universities. She currently holds the position of Chief Commercial Officer at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

Ms. Rulton has significant corporate governance experience and currently serves on multiple corporate Boards and committees in the not-for-profit and public sector, including as the Chair of Audit and Risk Committees. She has standard-setting experience and completed two terms on the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB).

New Board Members Elected

IFAC also announced new and re-appointed Board members:

New appointments:

• Ms. Josephine Su Han Phan (CPA Australia)
• Mr. Michael Niehues (IDW/WPK, Germany)
• Mrs. Patricia Stock (SAICA, South Africa)
• Mr. Mark Vaessen (Royal NBA, Netherlands)
• Mr. Lei Yan (CICPA, China)
• Dr. Ahmad Almeghames (SOCPA, Saudi Arabia)

Reappointments:

• Mr. Greg Anton (AICPA, USA)
• Ms. Tashia Batstone (CPA Canada)

Lee White, Chief Executive Officer, said: “On behalf of the IFAC President, Jean Bouquot, and entire IFAC community, I wish to extend our sincere gratitude to Asmâa Resmouki, the Immediate Past President, and outgoing Board members—Lisa Padmore, Margrét Pétursdóttir, Jeanine Poggiolini, Dr. Jianhua Tang, and Ayşe Arıak Tunaboylu for their tremendous service to our profession, and for the invaluable wisdom and support to me and all of our members during their tenures.”

New IFAC Members and Associate Admitted

In addition to the election of new Board members, the IFAC Council also approved new Member and new Associate organizations.

New IFAC Members:

• Colegio de Contadores Públicos de Pichincha y del Ecuador
• Consejo General de Economistas de España
• Emirates Association for Accountants and Auditors

New Associates:

• Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Maldives  
• Ordre National des Experts-Comptables Algériens
• Ordre des Professionnels Comptables du Burundi
• Ordre National des Experts Comptables du Gabon

The new appointments and membership admissions were approved at the 2024 IFAC Council hybrid meeting, with a physical location held in Paris, France on November 6-7, 2024.

About IFAC

IFAC, by connecting and uniting its members, makes the accountancy profession truly global.

IFAC member organizations are champions of integrity and professional quality, and proudly carry their membership as a badge of international recognition.

IFAC and its members work together to shape the future of the profession through learning, innovation, a collective voice, and commitment to the public interest.

Mr. Lei Yan joined the IFAC Board in November 2024. He was nominated by Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountant (CICPA).

Mr. Lei Yan is currently the leading Partner of Assurance and International Business in Baker Tilly China. He has extensive experience in auditing and consulting of large scale international operation company and IPO auditing in the Chinese capital market.

Mr. Lei Yan is a member of the SME Implementation Group of IFRS and HR development committee of CICPA to focus on the training of the talent in the industry. He is a Chinese certified public accountant.

Mr. Lei Yan received his bachelor's degree in accounting from North China Electric Power University and Master's degree in business management from Central University of Finance and Economics.

Mark Vaessen joined the IFAC Board in November 2024 after being nominated by the Royal Nederlandse Beroepsorganisatie van Accountants (The Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants).

Mr. Vaessen is a senior partner with KPMG in the Netherlands and the Global Head of Corporate & Sustainability Reporting for KPMG internationally. In that capacity he maintains the relationship with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and is a member of the Integrated Reporting and Connectivity Council, an advisory body to both the ISSB and IASB.

In addition, Mr. Vaessen is currently the President of Accountancy Europe, a Brussels-based organization representing nearly one million professional accountants from across Europe. He previously also was a board member at the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

Mr. Vaessen has been a partner in KPMG’s global audit practice since 1999. He lived and worked in London for nearly 20 years, building and leading KPMG’s global international standards network as global IFRS leader. In 2017, he returned to his native the Netherlands where he was Head of Professional Practice until the end of 2022.

Michael Niehues was elected to the IFAC Board in November 2024, jointly nominated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW) and the Wirtschaftsprüferkammer (WPK).

Mr. Niehues is currently a member of the WPK’s Board (since 2014) and of the IDW’s working group on audit and professional ethics regulation. He chaired Accountancy Europe’s Ethics & Professional Competencies Working Party (2007 to 2020), served as member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (2006 to 2011), and as National Expert to the European Commission (1999 to 2001) he worked on audit regulation and auditor independence.

Mr. Niehues is a partner at Deloitte Germany, a German certified tax advisor, and German certified public accountant. In 1989 he started his career with Deloitte Germany where he gained experience in auditing large multinational companies, corporate restructuring, and forensic services. He served as the firm’s Director of Independence and regulatory contact (2001 to 2020) before he joined its executive leadership as Chief Risk Officer (2020-2024).

Mr. Niehues holds a Diplom (MBA equivalent) in business administration from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg.