I am very proud to have the honor of presenting the IFAC Sempier Award to a professional who I deeply respect for her dedication to this profession.
She is a person of impeccable character and great courage. For the past 40 years she has helped our profession address ethical issues at both a national and international level, doing so with the utmost integrity. For 10 years, she served on IFAC’s Ethics Committee – now the International Ethics Standards Board of Accountants – including five years as its chair. And she served as chair during some of the most challenging times in our profession’s history. Under her leadership, in January 2002, IFAC issued a major revision to its Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, including a conceptual framework approach for independence requirements for assurance engagements. This approach has now been incorporated throughout the entire IFAC Code of Ethics.
Her work on ethical issues has not been confined to IFAC. Prior to her work with IFAC, she was chairman of the Ethics Committee of the American Institute of CPAs.
I would now like to invite Marilyn Pendergast, the IFAC Sempier Award winner, to join me on the stage.
Marilyn, I highly respect and admire you. Thank you for all you have done. It has been good for the profession. More importantly, it has been good for the public that we serve.
On behalf of IFAC, please accept this award in recognition of your contributions to IFAC and this great profession of ours.
Congratulations Marilyn.