This is the third installment of a 6-month publication series titled Anti-Money Laundering, The Basics.

The series provides professional accountants with a better understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest. 

This report highlights takeaways from the September 2019 Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee meeting, and outlines key priorities for accountants in business.

The report specifically focuses on:

• Integrated value creation;
• The value of data;
• Action on the SDGs;
• Opportunities and challenges for accountants in SMEs; and 
• Professional ethics.

This report, capturing conversations and takeaways from the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business Committee meeting in September 2018, provides insight into finance function transformation, including opportunities and challenges facing the profession.

Key topics covered include:

For finance professionals to be viewed as business partners, they must contribute effectively to enterprise performance management (EPM) beyond traditional financial reporting and financial systems. 

This resource identifies why and how the finance function must evolve to support EPM, including:

• Why EPM is critical to the future of the profession
• How accountants in business and the finance function can drive effective EPM; and 
• The four key enablers of EPM

Developing a vision and roadmap for the finance professional and finance function is a journey requiring an iterative and experimental approach, supported by a development plan that incorporates significant thinking on a variety of topics.

In an iterative workshop, the Professional Accountants in Business Committee explored how to develop a vision for the finance function and provided updates on current initiatives, including:

This self-assessment evaluation tool is available for professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) to help take a strategic and practical approach to enhancing relevance for professional accountants in business (PAIB).

View Online Report

Integrated reporting is critical to long term value creation. 

This guidance was written for all organizations, regardless of their size or structure, private or public, to support the accountancy profession’s facilitation of sustainable organizations, financial markets, and economies by providing guiding principles to manage the complexities of performing a robust project and investment appraisal. Greater rigor in the appraisal and decision process can be achieved by using the principles as a benchmark against which to assess an organization’s current practice.