IFAC Deputy Director Kelly Anerud moderated and served as a panelist in a session entitled "Translating International Standards and Guidance: Best Practices and Tools to Achieve Quality Translations" on November 12, 2014, at the World Congress of Accountants 2014, in Rome, Italy.

The session also included presentations by Mariarita Cafulli, head of the Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabli Translation Department, Javier Quintana, secretary of the Ibero-American Cooperation Framework (IberAm Project) and CEO of the Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España, and Hilde Blomme, deputy CEO of the Federation of European Accountants (FEE). 

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to be with you again. I say ‘again’ as there are many familiar faces in the audience from the 2012 CReCER Conference in Nicaragua. For me, this in and of itself is a clear signal of the commitment of stakeholders in Latin America to engage in dialogue on international developments.

At last year’s conference, I noted a number of important challenges in financial reporting and auditing, and in the surrounding environment. For example, today’s financial reporting involves more complexity, more areas of judgment, and more qualitative disclosures; and users have higher expectations than ever before, with many saying “We want to hear more.” Perhaps most importantly, the global financial crisis has triggered questions concerning the quality of audits, their effectiveness, and the role of professional judgment and skepticism – which have given way to fundamental questions to the profession about relevance and trust.

So why change the auditor’s report now? What we learned from research is a positive message: the auditor’s opinion is valued, and users want to hear more from the auditor – more pertinent, and more tailored, information about the specific audit performed on an entity’s financial statements. There is symbolic value in the current report, but little communicative value – and users see the potential for the auditor to provide more value and more transparency. So, now is the time to lay the foundation for the auditor’s report of the future.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession, along with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Global Public Policy Committee, held the seventh Conference for Accounting and Accountability for Regional Economic Growth, or CReCER (Contabilidad y Responsabilidad para el Crecimiento Económico Regional) in Cartagena, Colombia, this week. IFAC member body the Instituto Nacional de Contadores Públicos de Colombia hosted and executed the 2013 CReCER event.

Themed Integrating Approaches to Financial Reporting to Advance Regional Economic Growth: An Exchange between Public and Private Sector, the conference drew more than 350 attendees and speakers and covered important topics, such as national and regional initiatives to advance adoption and implementation of international standards; global perspectives on the evolving role of auditors and accountants; recent capital market developments to support investment; and the future of business reporting, including integrated reporting.

IFAC supports this important event as part of overall efforts to strengthen professional accountancy organizations and their role in contributing to high-quality financial reporting and serving as centers of excellence for the auditing and accountancy profession. This year’s event was especially important because of the timeliness of the sessions on strategies for integrating International Public Sector Accounting Standards with public sector financial management systems and the recent Exposure Draft on auditor reporting from the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board.

“The discussions, collaborations, and learning that takes place at CReCER by the profession and its key stakeholders have a lasting impact on accountancy and the economies in the region,” according to IFAC President Warren Allen. “These three days set up the next few years of work on the ground for professional accountancy organizations and international standard setters.”

IFAC looks forward to continuing to collaborate with nations and organizations in the region to advance the global and local issues of importance to accountancy and accountants, especially strengthening public sector financial management.

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 173 members and associates in 129 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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Presentation given to the Federation of Accounting Professionals in Thailand during a seminar on the IFAC Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs). The presentation includes information what the SMOs are, their importance, the November 2012 revisions, and what organizations need to understand and do to apply the SMOs.

Szymon Radziszewicz, IFAC Senior Technical Manager, recently held a seminar with the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) on how the approach to building and strengthening professional accountancy organizations is changing as the global landscape changes. The presentation featured the relevant economic and global changes since the global financial crisis began and how regulation of the accountancy profession has shifted. IFAC’s strategic global position and policies are also detailed.

Attendees at the seminar included top officials of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission and the Board of Accountancy and representatives of the top firms, the small- and medium-sized practices community, and the Philippine government.

Presenting at “The G-20 Agenda Under the Russian Chairmanship,” a high-level public-private sector conference organized by the Institute of International Finance in partnership with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, International Federation of Accountants Outgoing CEO Ian Ball called on Russia to use its G-20 Presidency to strengthen global financial stability by supporting adoption and implementation of International Public Sector Reporting Standards (IPSASs).

In particular, Ball called on the Russian Presidency to:

• Create a better understanding of the need to significantly enhance the quality of accounting by governments;
• Urge the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to adopt IPSASs as one of the core sets of standards; and
• Direct the FSB to research the effectiveness of different institutional arrangements for fiscal management and governance.

As early as 2007, IFAC stated that it “is concerned that the standards and regulations governing sovereign issuers are not of sufficient quality to protect investors and ensure the stability of capital markets.” Consistent with its past submissions to the G-20, IFAC calls for urgent research and action to address this critical, but neglected, component of the international financial system. The G-20 should actively encourage the adoption of accrual-based accounting and budgeting by governments and public sector institutions, which will promote greater transparency and accountability in public sector finances and allow for monitoring of government debt and liabilities for their true economic implications.

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 173 members and associates in 129 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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The Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities (the Conceptual Framework) underpins the development of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) and Recommended Practice Guidelines (RPGs).

The first four chapters of the Conceptual Framework are:

This Comparison Guide is designed to explain all the revisions to the Statements of Membership Obligations. It provides an explanation of the revisions and serves as a useful tool to assist member organizations and their technical staff to identify changes and understand and address them.

This questions and answers (Q&As) publication was released by the staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) to support the adoption and implementation of the IESBA’s Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code). These Q&As cover issues related to materiality, partner rotation, public interest entities, and network firms, among several other topic areas.

This IAASB Staff Questions & Answers publication highlights how the design of International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) 1, Quality Control for Firms that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements, enables it to be applied in a manner proportionate with the nature and size of a firm.