Amendments to IPSAS Standards: Specific IFRIC Interpretations adds authoritative guidance to IPSAS Standards, based on four IFRIC Interpretations, to help entities better understand and apply existing IPSAS principles.

The additional guidance does not change the existing accounting principles; rather, it clarifies the application of existing principles to specific matters.

On January 1, 2025, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) welcomed two new members following their appointments by the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) in November 2024.

• Nancy Miller (USA), Managing Director in Risk Management - Audit and Independence, KPMG - “The opportunity to collaborate with a diverse group of accomplished professionals, to continue IESBA’s mission, is a unique and important role that I am honored to hold. I hope to bring my background, working in both very small and very large accounting firms, to support strong international ethics standards that fulfill obligations to comply with the underlying principles while drafting standards that are clear, operationally sound and can be consistently applied.” 
• Obichukwu Nwazota (Nigeria), Managing Consultant, UGN Consulting Services Ltd - “Accountants are profoundly essential to a sustainable economic future, providing financial and non-financial insights that drive decision-making across diverse sectors and levels, with far-reaching local and global impacts. To maintain the public trust and proper functioning of economies, high-quality ethical standards for accountants are critical. It is a great privilege to join the IESBA and contribute to the enhancement of its high-quality ethical standards and strengthening their implementation globally in the public interest.”

The IESBA also welcomed the appointment of Channa Wijesinghe FCPA (Australia) as the Board’s Vice Chair. Channa, the CEO of the Australian Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB), joined the Board in 2022. In addition to Channa, Mark Babington (United Kingdom), Christelle Martin (France), and Rich Huesken (USA) were all reappointed to the Board.

"It is my pleasure to welcome Nancy and Obichukwu to the IESBA. I also want to thank Channa for accepting the important role of Vice-Chair and congratulate him on his appointment, as well as Mark, Christelle, and Rich on their reappointments," said IESBA Chair Gabriela Figueiredo Dias, who added: "As we take on critical issues of global importance—such as ethics in sustainability reporting and assurance, accounting firm culture and governance, and expanding the scope of the Code—having a mix of new perspectives and experienced voices is essential. Nancy and Obichukwu bring fresh insights and expertise, while Channa’s leadership as Vice Chair, along with the deep knowledge of our returning members, provides continuity and strength to the Board. Together, this dynamic group will help us achieve our ambitious goals and continue to lead with ethics to make a meaningful impact in the public interest. I am looking forward to working with them over the next term.”

The PIOB’s Invitation for Applications for IESBA members for terms of service beginning in January 2026 will be open in February. The IESBA encourages qualified candidates to apply.

The International Standards: 2024 Global Adoption Status Snapshot highlights how widely international standards are embraced across IFAC member jurisdictions. Since the inaugural 2019 report, we continue to see notable progress in adoption of the international standards as well as enhancing quality assurance and investigation & discipline systems. The 2024 update highlights a selection of success stories from IFAC members. It also identifies the conditions that help advance adoption and implementation, as well as more opportunities for further collaboration and connected learning.

This progress is made possible by the steadfast commitment of IFAC member organizations to the requirements outlined in the Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs). By proudly carrying their IFAC membership as a badge of international recognition and working with IFAC to publish their adoption & implementation actions on IFAC’s International Standards Adoption Map, these organizations reinforce their dedication to integrity and professional quality, and to shape the future of the profession through their commitment to the public interest.

Access the 2024 Global Adoption Status Snapshot

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.

The FCGWG Final Report highlights the critical role of ethical culture and governance in addressing issues of unethical behavior within accounting firms. Through extensive outreach and research conducted in 2024, the FCGWG identified key drivers of an ethical firm culture, including ethical leadership, transparent accountability mechanisms, and governance frameworks that embed ethical values across all service lines.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) launched a standard-setting project on accounting firm culture and governance, actioning the recommendations of the Working Group on Firm Culture and Governance in its fact-finding report, which was released today.

Key findings of the report include:

• The role of ethical leadership and robust governance within accounting firms as key drivers in creating a culture that promotes ethical behavior.
• The importance of transparent and ethical leadership, firm-wide accountability mechanisms and the provision of independent input.
• The need for alignment of performance incentives with ethical behavior, continuous ethics education, and a culture of open discussion and challenge.  

Taking into consideration the Working Group’s conclusions and recommendations, the standard-setting project aims to develop a principles-based culture and governance framework for accounting firms that promotes, supports and reinforces a high standard of ethical behavior across all their professional services.

As part of this strategic initiative, the IESBA will also develop non-authoritative materials to raise awareness about the importance of ethical behavior in accounting firms and support firms with guidance on embedding ethics into their strategies and operations. These will also help involve other stakeholders who might contribute to developing an ecosystem for highly ethical accounting firms.

The IESBA will conduct a series of in-person and virtual global roundtables in March and April 2025 to gather views from a broad range of stakeholders. The in-person roundtables will be held in New York City, USA; Melbourne, Australia; Brussels, Belgium; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Further details will be announced in due course.

Gabriela Figueiredo Dias, Chair of the IESBA, said, “Ethics is foundational to the work of all accounting firms and all the professionals therein. It is their gateway to public trust in their professional services. I commend the Working Group on tabling a comprehensive report, identifying the key areas of focus we will be probing carefully and systematically, in collaboration with stakeholders, as we seek to develop a global framework for culture and governance for firms. It is our strong conviction that this framework will enable firms to be highly ethical firms consistently, strengthening their resilience against risks of unethical behavior, maintaining a good reputation, and ensuring their long-term sustainability to serve clients, investors, other stakeholders, and the public interest.”

Established in March 2024, the Working Group’s charge included, among other matters, gathering an understanding of culture and governance and their impact on compliance with ethical requirements in accounting firms and, where applicable, their networks and developing recommendations for the IESBA.

The development of the report was informed by extensive outreach to stakeholders, including regulators and oversight bodies, investors and the corporate governance community, accounting firms, professional accountancy organizations, national standard setters, and the Stakeholder Advisory Council, as well as a review of academic literature.

The topic of accounting firm culture and governance is a strategic priority for the IESBA following a spate of high-profile cases of unethical behavior in accounting firms in several jurisdictions in recent years. These cases have led to adverse consequences for individual professional accountants and their firms in multiple jurisdictions. 

About IESBA

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is an independent global standard-setting board. The IESBA’s mission is to serve the public interest by setting high-quality, international ethics (including independence) standards as a cornerstone to ethical behavior in business and organizations, and to public trust in financial and non-financial information that is fundamental to the proper functioning and sustainability of organizations, financial markets and economies worldwide.

Along with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, the IESBA is part of the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit. The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) oversees IESBA and IAASB activities and the public interest responsiveness of the standards.

On behalf of the IAASB, Happy New Year to all. The IAASB closed out a productive 2024 by approving ISA 570 (Revised), Going Concern closely following the September 2024 approval of ISSA 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements. It is natural for our stakeholders to want to know what the IAASB plans to do in 2025. Our strategy document, Elevating Trust in Audit and Assurance, provides clear guidance.

For 2025, from a standard-setting standpoint, we are translating the strategy into three leading tasks:

1. Finish what we have started.
2. Give the market time and support to ensure high-quality implementation.
3. Increase our focus on technology to enhance audit and assurance quality.

Finish what we have started. By the end of the first half of 2025, the IAASB will complete its projects on Fraud and the second phase of our IESBA convergence work on Listed and Public Interest Entities. The IAASB intends to approve revisions to the Fraud standard in March and will undertake a consultation and outreach on Listed and Public Entities in Q1 to permit June 2025 approval. With the finalization of these projects, an important phase of our 2024-2027 work plan ends.

Give the market time and support to ensure high-quality implementation. In recent years, IAASB major initiatives included ISA 315 (Revised 2019), the quality management suite of standards (ISQMs 1 and 2, and ISA 220 (Revised), group audits (ISA 600 (Revised), the ISA for Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities, ISSA 5000, and going concern (ISA 570 (Revised 2024). With the addition of the standards we anticipate finalizing in the first half of 2025, our focus will turn to supporting implementation of these standards, allowing time for their effective adoption, and beginning to assess their effectiveness through post-implementation reviews. For example, jointly with IESBA, we will be launching comprehensive implementation support plans for our sustainability standards at the end of January.

Increase our focus on technology to enhance audit and assurance quality. As our work plan transitions, there will necessarily be a period of calm in terms of new standards coming into effect.  However, we will not slow our work on key public interest topics. In September, the IAASB approved a new Technology Position and “committed to actively facilitating and, where appropriate, encouraging the appropriate use of technology.” While technology is not the sole driver, a dedicated focus on technology will be a priority over the next three years. Our recent project proposal to revise our Audit Evidence and Risk Response standards, scheduled to be completed in early 2027, highlights this commitment. We will be updating our project timelines shortly to reflect the technology priority.

The IAASB has emphasized the value of stakeholder engagement and has deepened outreach over recent years. As we pursue the three actions above, expect this level of outreach to continue.