The IPSASB held its first meeting of the year from March 6-9, 2018 in New York City, USA. 

The global search is underway for an exceptional individual to lead the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) into its next era.

The Chair leads the IAASB’s strategic direction and development of high-quality international audit standards, as well as facilitates the consultative processes that underpin the board’s credibility and activities. The Chair develops and maintains effective relationships with international oversight authorities and regulatory bodies, national standard setters, investor and preparer communities, the audit practitioner community and other key stakeholders. The next IAASB Chair will also guide the board through any transitional period and change implementation arising from the IAASB reforms.

The successful candidate has significant, senior-level experience and is well recognized within professional and regulatory communities. He or she has effective leadership, diplomacy, communication, and strategic skills; demonstrated professional competency; and a strong commitment to the IAASB’s public interest mission. He or she also understands the significant travel commitment involved.

The IAASB Chair is appointed for a renewable three-year term, commencing January 1, 2019. A complete job description, along with application instructions, is available on the IAASB website. Applications are due May 20.

This global search is being conducted by the Interim Nominating Committee, which was formed in February 2018 to conduct the IAASB Chair nominations process and make a final recommendation to the IFAC Board and Public Interest Oversight Board. The Committee held its inaugural meeting on March 28 in New York to finalize the position description and outline the selection process. More information on the Committee is available online.

This Call for Applications is an official notice for the general public outlining the requirements and job description of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board Chair. The Chair leads the IAASB’s strategic direction and development of high-quality international audit standards as well as facilitates the consultative processes that underpin the board’s credibility and activities.

The Zimbabwean Ministry of Finance, the nation’s Public Accountants and Auditors Board (PAAB), IFAC (the International Federation of Accountants) and Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), gathered more than 200 senior officials from central and local government to discuss next steps in Zimbabwe’s migration to accrual accounting based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards® (IPSAS®).

Opening the meeting, Finance and Economic Planning Deputy Minister Terence Mukupe reaffirmed the government’s commitment to high quality accrual-based public financial reporting as a cornerstone of sound public financial management and effective, efficient public service delivery.

The Chief Secretary, Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr. M.J.M Sibanda, sent a message of support that confirmed political backing at the nation’s highest level. He acknowledged the contribution of quality accrual-based public financial reporting to enhanced public sector transparency and accountability—an essential element in building trust and confidence in government amongst the people, as well as domestic and foreign investors.

Key development partners in Zimbabwe, including the European Union, International Monetary Fund, UK Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank, shared their expectations for PFM Reform in Zimbabwe. They encouraged the government to use the recently-completed Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment to develop a national PFM Reform strategy.

Participants actively identified accrual accounting implementation solutions, drawing on global, regional, and local best practices shared by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), Organisation of English-speaking African Supreme Audit Institutions, the Government of South Africa, and Government of Tanzania.

As an essential partner to government, the accountancy profession committed to continued strengthening of central and local government accountancy capacity—including attendees being offered access to CIPFA’s Certificate in IPSAS.

Key outcomes highlighted by Zimbabwe’s Accountant General, Daniel Muchemwa, included the establishment of a policymaking steering committee that will be supported by an implementation working group comprising meeting participants. They will meet quarterly to establish a high level implementation strategy and monitor progress in the migration to accrual accounting.

The event was supported by IFAC and CIPFA, and funded with UK aid from the UK government.

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.

In 2014, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) reached an agreement with IFAC to provide funding of almost £5 million for PAO capacity building in at least ten emerging countries over seven years. One of the projects under the IFAC Capacity Building Program using DFID funding is currently underway in Zimbabwe.

About DFID

The Department for International Development (DFID) leads the UK’s work to end extreme poverty. We're ending the need for aid by creating jobs, unlocking the potential of girls and women and helping to save lives when humanitarian emergencies hit. For more information visit www.gov.uk/dfid.

About PAAB

The Public Accountants and Auditors Board, Zimbabwe (PAAB) functions in terms of the Public Accountants and Auditors Act [Chapter 27:12]. It is the regulatory body for the accountancy profession in Zimbabwe. The PAAB’s mission is to protect the financial interests of the people of Zimbabwe and those with interests in the Zimbabwean economy by ensuring the maintenance of high standards of professional performance by members of the accountancy profession to foster investment.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) will hold roundtables in Washington (June 11^th), Paris (June 15^th) and Tokyo (July 12^th) to obtain stakeholder feedback on significant public interest topics including non-assurance services (NAS) and the exercise of professional skepticism.

To help shape the future of IESBA’s standard setting, the roundtable consultations will focus on:

Non-Assurance Services (NAS)
To enhance auditor independence, how best to delineate both the boundaries and types of NAS auditors can provide to their audit clients? Auditor independence is critical to public trust in audited financial statements. We’ve launched a NAS initiative to explore broad permissibility under the IESBA’s International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code) in response to global regulatory developments and calls from stakeholders and the Public Interest Oversight Board.

Professional Skepticism
How best to meet public expectations for all professional accountants, including auditors, to exercise “professional skepticism”? We’ve launched an initiative to explore: the behavioral characteristics inherent in professional skepticism; whether those characteristics should be applied by all professional accountants; and whether the Code should be further developed.

Save the dates! The roundtables will be held in:

• Washington, D.C., USA on June 11, 2018; 
• Paris, France on June 15, 2018; and 
• Tokyo, Japan on July 12, 2018. 

Would you like to attend?
As space is limited, attendance will be by invitation only. Register your interest (IESBA@ethicsboard.org) by April 30, 2018, indicating your name, job title, organization and preferred location. An invitation will follow shortly!

Who should attend?
Investors, audit committee members, preparers, regulators and audit oversight authorities, academics, national standards setters, firms and IFAC member bodies.

About the IESBA
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) mission is to serve the public interest by setting ethics standards, including auditor independence requirements, that seek to raise the bar for ethical conduct and practice for all professional accountants (PAs) worldwide through a robust, globally operable International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (Including International Independence Standards) (the Code). Please visit www.ethicsboard.org for more information.