During its meeting in Dublin, Ireland, last week, the Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) agreed to hold a G-20 Accountancy Summit on July 23-24 in London to obtain the perspectives of accountancy institutes on how the profession can best contribute to strengthening the global financial system.
"Our goal is to identify and summarize the collective viewpoints of IFAC and accountancy institutes in G-20 countries and to submit these to the G-20 Working Groups prior to their September meeting," says IFAC President Robert Bunting. "This will be a follow up to IFAC's letter to three G-20 Working Groups in March, in which we indicated our support of their recommendations to implement international standards, improve the international regulatory framework, and strengthen the roles of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank."
During the meeting, Board members considered the implications of the financial crisis and heard reports from the chairs of IFAC's independent standard-setting boards on their initiatives to update and develop new international auditing, education, ethics, and public sector accounting standards, particularly in those areas that would help the profession to address issues related to the financial crisis, and to adopt and promote their adoption and use by a wide group of stakeholders. Such adoption and implementation is vital to improving the transparency of the financial system and is consistent with G-20 recommendations.
In addition, the Board discussed how IFAC can best support small and medium practices, including assisting them in addressing issues emerging from the financial crisis and increasing awareness of the role of professional accountants in business in risk management, corporate governance, and transparent financial reporting.
"In addressing the current financial crisis, IFAC has remained focused on its commitment to serving the public by strengthening the profession and working together with other constituencies-business leaders, governments, international organizations, and regulators-to strengthen financial reporting and auditing," emphasizes Mr. Bunting.
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 157 members and associates in 123 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC sets international ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting standards. It also issues guidance to encourage high-quality performance by professional accountants in business.
