The Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today issued the second edition of its Guide to Using International Standards on Auditing in the Audits of Small- and Medium-Sized Entities (ISA Guide). The implementation guide is intended to help practitioners understand and efficiently apply the Clarified International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), which are effective for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2009.

“Many practitioners around the world are transitioning to the use of the Clarified ISAs. While the Clarity Project made the ISAs more understandable, clear, and capable of consistent application, the SMP Committee has long recognized the challenges facing SMPs in applying new standards—which range from resource constraints to the distinctive traits of audits of small- and medium-sized entities,” says Sylvie Voghel, SMP Committee chair. “The updated ISA Guide provides IFAC member bodies—and ultimately the SMPs they represent—with a unique resource to help them implement the new requirements efficiently and deliver high-quality service.”

The first edition of the ISA Guide was issued in December 2007 and was IFAC’s second most popular publication during 2008. The second edition includes various improvements based on feedback from users of the first edition. In addition, it features two integrated case studies, one of which focuses on an audit of a micro-entity, increased focus on SME audits, and a new colorful design.

The ISA Guide also now comes in two stand-alone volumes:

• Volume 1 describes the basic concepts of a risk-based audit in conformance with the Clarified ISAs. It is directed at practitioners and students with little or no familiarity with the ISAs who want to understand them and apply them in practice. This volume might also provide material to training providers, institutes, and universities that teach audit practices.
• Volume 2 provides practical guidance for the audit of SMEs. It is aimed at practitioners with a good working knowledge of the ISAs who want a tool for reference purposes, as well as specific guidance on conducting SME audits cost effectively.

IFAC wishes to thank the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants for producing the ISA Guide and the global panel of reviewers for volunteering their time and effort to helping with its development.

The PDF version of the ISA Guide can be downloaded for personal use from the Publications & Resources section of the IFAC website. For information on reproducing or translating publications issued by IFAC, please see our policy statement or contact permissions@ifac.org.

The IFAC SMP Committee welcomes readers to visit its International Center for Small and Medium Practices (www.ifac.org/smp), which hosts a collection of IFAC publications (including recently issued guides on quality control and practice management) and relevant links to resources from IFAC member bodies and other organizations, including a category devoted to implementing international standards. The site also hosts a discussion board, where practitioners can exchange views on how to apply the ISAs, a link to the Translations Database, where downloadable translations of the ISA Guide are available, and a link to the IAASB Clarity Center, which hosts an array of implementation support materials.

About IFAC
IFAC (www.ifac.org) 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 159 members and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

IFAC President Robert Bunting speaks about the strategies that small- and medium-sized entities can use to secure financing during the credit crunch. Read the article here.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession, welcomes the announcement by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation of the membership of the newly-created SME Implementation Group (SME IG). IFAC is pleased to note the appointment to the SME IG of two of its nominees—Robin Jarvis and Ricardo Rodil.

The group’s mission is to support the adoption and implementation of the IFRS for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) around the world. As such, it will develop non-mandatory guidance for implementing the IFRS for SMEs in the form of questions and answers that will be made publicly available on a timely basis and make recommendations to the International Accounting Standards Board if and when needed regarding amendments to the IFRS for SMEs. The members of the group will serve a renewable term of two years from July 2010. The full list of members is available here.

“We are gratified that two of our nominees were selected to join the SME IG,” said Ian Ball, CEO of IFAC. “Both small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs) and SMEs are vital parts of the global economy. IFAC provides support to SMPs, in collaboration with our member bodies, so that they can provide high-quality services to their SME clients. We also support professional accountants in business, many of whom work in SMEs and will use the IFRS for SMEs. Providing input into international standard-setting—including auditing and assurance, ethics, and accounting standards— to help ensure that they are relevant to SMPs and SMEs is a key part of our work. Robin and Ricardo will help the SME IG fulfill its mandate by bringing invaluable insights from their professional experience, along with that drawn from their experience with IFAC’s Small and Medium Practices Committee.”

For more information about IFAC’s Small and Medium Practices Committee, see www.ifac.org/smp.

About IFAC
IFAC (www.ifac.org) 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 159 members and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

The Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today issued the second edition of its Guide to Quality Control for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices (QC Guide) The implementation guide is intended to help SMPs understand and efficiently apply the redrafted 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.

The first edition of the QC Guide was issued in March 2009 and went on to become IFAC’s second most downloaded publication after the Handbook of International Auditing, Assurance, and Ethics Pronouncements last year. The new edition conforms to the revised and redrafted Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and includes various improvements based on feedback from users of the first edition. It features an integrated case study, practical checklists and forms, and two sample quality control manuals.

IFAC wishes to thank the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) for producing the QC Guide for free and the global panel of reviewers for volunteering their time and effort to helping with its development.

“This guide will help SMPs to cost effectively implement ISQC 1 and ensure that they can provide high-quality assurance and related services to their clients,” said SMP Committee Chair Sylvie Voghel.

The PDF version of the QC Guide can be downloaded from the Publications and Resources section of the IFAC website. In addition, CGA-Canada is currently working on developing a French translation of the QC Guide. It will be available on the Translations Database of the IFAC website in September.

About IFAC

IFAC (www.ifac.org) 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 159 members and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

The Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today issued the Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-sized Practices, which provides guidance on how this sector can better manage their practices and ultimately operate in a safe, profitable, and professional manner.

The publication includes practice management principles and best practices on a comprehensive range of topics, including strategic planning, managing staff, client relationship management, and succession planning. It features case studies to illustrate the concepts, checklists and forms, a list of further readings, and modules that may be used for training and education. The guide was developed with CPA Australia, which was commissioned by the SMP Committee.

“This guide will help SMPs cope with an increasingly complex and competitive environment by providing them with information to help them operate with greater proficiency and professionalism,” said SMP Committee Chair Sylvie Voghel.

IFAC wishes to thank its member bodies—Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabili and Certified General Accountants' Association of Canada—for providing some of the funding for the publication, as well as the international panel of experts who helped in its development.

The PDF print version of the guide can be downloaded free of charge from the Publications and Resources section of the IFAC website. A fully interactive version with internal links to aid navigation will be available in the coming weeks.

The IFAC SMP Committee welcomes readers to visit its International Center for Small and Medium Practices, which hosts a collection of relevant links to free resources from IFAC member bodies and other organizations, including a category devoted to practice management, and the SMP/SME Discussion Board, where readers may submit their views on practice management issues.

About IFAC
IFAC (www.ifac.org) 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 159 members and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

This guide provides guidance to small- and medium-sized practices on how to better manage their practice and ultimately operate in a safe, profitable, and professional manner. The publication includes practice management principles and best practices on a comprehensive range of topics, including strategic planning, managing staff, client relationship management, and succession planning. It features case studies to illustrate the concepts, checklists and forms, a list of further readings, and modules that may be used for training and education.

First may I say what a great pleasure it is to present on the work of the committee that I chair here in my home country. Today I will share with what the committee is doing, and plans to do, to support the SMP constituency--and in turn assist small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs). I will conclude this presentation with a look into the future in particular, the committee’s role in implementing the recommendations. 

Thank you, Stephan. It's a pleasure to be here this afternoon and good afternoon to you. Like you, I'm contemplating a longer stay here than I anticipated, but it's OK. In fact, it's wonderful.

As you know, [and] as I'm sure speakers have mentioned earlier in this conference, Venice is the place where accounting was invented by Luca Pachioli. And, of course, Venice is famous for a Venetian merchant who opened up the Eastern routes of the trade: Marco Polo. But I'll come back to that in a minute.

First, I'd like to congratulate our host, CNDCEC [Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e Degli Esperti Contabili]. I'm sorry, Claudio, I can't say the whole name. I'm an American and Italian just does not flow from my lips. But I would like to thank you for your interest in SMP [small and medium practice] and SME [small- and medium-sized entity] issues.

I know that Italy is a hotbed of entrepreneurialism, where small companies manufacture very high-quality consumer goods and sell them throughout the world. Most of those companies are family owned and most of those companies are served by SMPs.

Italy contributes greatly to IFAC. We have a number [of members] from the [Italian] member body on the IFAC Board and, of course, we have a very important member on the SMP Committee. Italy has also done the translation of the ISAs into Italian, which [will be] critical for adoption of the ISAs by the European Union.

I'd also like to thank FEE [Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens]. I believe that FEE defines for IFAC what a regional organization ought to be. It's certainly the largest and, I believe, the best organized of all of the IFAC-recognized regional bodies. I congratulate you on holding this conference, and I believe that you are doing something very important for one of my pet projects.

Why is it one of my pet projects? I do not pretend to be an SMP. My firm has over 1,500 professionals in it. But, we serve SMEs. We serve a lot of SMEs . We believe they are critical to the functioning of the U.S. economy and critical to the functioning of almost all economies, and I will again come back to that.

Video Interviews from the Event

https://www.press.cndcec.it/Portal/WebTV/Evento.aspx?Id=e24fdc3c-cfc1-4056-83fa-62dcda1f5830

https://www.press.cndcec.it/Portal/WebTV/Evento.aspx?Id=106cea8b-75bc-4b8d-89e2-bab5e0d6a698

The Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) published an analysis of research on business advisory services provided by SMPs. The extensive analysis includes a review of global research spanning academic studies, practitioner surveys, and interviews of SMP partners.

The analysis suggests that the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)--the sector commonly served by SMPs--are changing due to an increasingly complex regulatory environment. The needs of SMEs are also changing as their demands shift from the use of SMPs for statutory audit requirements to business advisory services, including forming business plans and financial forecasts, identifying and managing risk, information technology, and business valuation.

Although the number and variety of SMEs continue to expand, evidence suggests that SMEs have difficulty obtaining access to credit and other resources. The analysis shows that SMPs are well-equipped to expand their services to meet the increasing needs of SMEs. The findings highlight that an important way for SMPS to improve their ability to meet these needs is by building referral networks, allowing them to expand the expertise available to their clients. The research suggests that referral networks are currently being underutilized by SMPs.

IFAC SMP Committee Chair Sylvie Voghel, an SME owner-manager herself, commented, "This research, which noted competency, trust and proximity to their clients as key factors underpinning a strong SMP-SME relationship, is an important step in the committee's initiative to learn how SMPs can position and equip themselves to better support SMEs."

The results of the research analysis are presented in the information paper, The Role of Small and Medium Practices in Providing Business Support to Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises, available in the SMP section of IFAC's Publications and Resources site: web.ifac.org/publications. For more information, the IFAC SMP Committee welcomes readers to visit its International Center for Small and Medium Practices at  www.ifac.org/smp, which hosts a collection of relevant links to free resources, including a category devoted to business advisory services. Readers are also encouraged to participate in the SMP/SME Discussion Board, where they may submit their views on the information paper and other issues.

About IFAC
IFAC (www.ifac.org) 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 159 members and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.