A recent study by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), in partnership with the AICPA and CIMA (representing the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants), has found a lack of standardization in sustainability assurance globally.
Global practices for sustainability reporting and assurance over that information — including the prevalence of assurance, level of assurance and standard and practitioner used — varies widely by jurisdiction, according to a new study from the International Federation of Accountants, the Association...
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), which represents more than 3 million professional accountants globally, welcomes IOSCO’s new report in which it elaborates on its vision and expectations for the IFRS Foundation’s work toward a global baseline of investor-focused sustainability standards.
IFAC has long advocated for the IFRS Foundation to establish an International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) focused on enterprise value creation, and based on a building blocks approach. Strong support from public authorities like IOSCO is critical to the success of the IFRS Foundation’s initiative. IOSCO has delivered this important support with its recent publication and related work under the Sustainable Finance Task Force.
IFAC specifically agrees with IOSCO’s analysis that investors are not currently getting the information they need from sustainability disclosures; that the IFRS Foundation should establish an ISSB alongside the IASB; that the ISSB will need to build on existing work; and that we need to create a flexible global system based on a building blocks approach. IFAC will continue to support IOSCO and the IFRS Foundation as they make progress on the ISSB. As momentum continues for harmonizing global sustainability-related reporting standards, IFAC has also initiated a workstream focused on global assurance related to sustainability information and looks to engage closely with IOSCO on any related investor protection issues.
IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey said, “IOSCO sets out a clear vision for the way forward on sustainability-related reporting—one that IFAC whole-heartedly agrees with. A global system for sustainability-related reporting will meet the information needs of investors and stakeholders more broadly. IFAC encourages IOSCO to continue actively engaging with the IFRS Foundation so that the unprecedented and necessary momentum toward establishing an ISSB can be maintained.”
Read more about IFAC’s views.
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 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
Global health leaders Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have joined forces with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to contribute to, and support, the implementation of robust accounting practices in the public health sector and to improve overall financial management of donor funds by implementing countries.
Through this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Gavi, the Global Fund and IFAC seek to strengthen the expertise of accountancy and finance professionals and help close the gaps in accountancy skills in implementing countries, which can impact the reliability and effectiveness of managing and disbursing funds. The MoU builds on a 2011 agreement and aims to optimize the joint efforts of global health partners to maximize the performance of investments and support the sustainability of health programs.
“Gavi has cooperated with IFAC and national accounting organizations for a number of years to ensure sound financial management of the funding we provide to countries – this agreement allows us to go much further with a focus on the health sector, in leveraging the expertise of the accountancy profession to boost transparency, build local skills and capacity to improve overall accounting practices, and build a stronger ethical framework,” Anuradha Gupta, Deputy CEO of Gavi, commented. “That will ultimately bring economic and societal benefits to everyone.”
“Equipping our implementing partners with the right financial management skills is essential to maximize the impact of our investments and contributes to greater results in the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria,” said Adda Faye, Chief Financial Officer at the Global Fund. “We are excited to join efforts with Gavi and IFAC to strengthen financial management, reporting, accountability, and transparency to better serve the societies and people in countries receiving Global Fund investments.”
“Robust and transparent accounting and reporting systems are the bedrock of strong public financial management and are thereby critical to the effectiveness and impact of Gavi and The Global Fund's disbursement of lifesaving funds and resources,” said IFAC President Alan Johnson. “Leveraging our global network and accountancy expertise, this MoU underscores the unique value that IFAC and our member bodies bring to organizations with a shared interest in enhancing the accountancy function to build a resilient and sustainable public health sector that leads to a fairer society for all.”
This work will start with a number of pilot countries in collaboration with local professional accountancy organizations (PAOs). Gavi and the Global Fund will be responsible for funding, selecting beneficiary organizations, and monitoring the implementation of targeted capacity-building activities which include training, establishing and reinforcing accountancy standards, reinforcing ethics and whistle-blowing policies, implementing diversity and inclusiveness policies and helping set up appropriate legal foundations, governance structures, and operational capacity.
Ultimately, this partnership will lead to better integration of Gavi and the Global Fund investments into country systems, better internal controls to reduce fiduciary and financial risks, enhanced absorption of grants and ultimately greater impact.
About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate half the world’s children against some of the world’s deadliest diseases. Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation – over 822 million children – and prevented more than 14 million deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 73 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningitis and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation and reaching the unvaccinated children still being left behind, employing innovative finance and the latest technology – from drones to biometrics – to save millions more lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organizations that fund Gavi’s work here.
About the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund is a worldwide movement to defeat HIV, TB and malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all. We raise and invest US$4billion a year to fight the deadliest infectious diseases, challenge the injustice which fuels them and strengthen health systems in more than 100 of the hardest hit countries. We unite world leaders, communities, civil society, health workers and the private sector to find solutions that have the most impact, and we take them to scale worldwide. Since 2002, the Global Fund has saved 38 million lives.
About the International Federation of Accountants
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 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
The IAASB is currently working on a narrow scope maintenance of standards project on listed entity and PIE that addresses the IAASB’s actions in respect of recent revisions to the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (IESBA Code) as a result of IESBA’s project on the definitions of listed entity and PIE.
* Post-Event Materials *
Click here to watch a recording of this webinar.
Below is the slide deck, including two slides with hyperlinked resources for the audience (slides 27 and 28) and updated with recommendations from the panel.
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The report was drawn from the IFAC Index, which captures current and future use of public financial reporting bases and frameworks by governments around the world. The index found that while 30% of governments report on an accrual basis in 2020 (an increase of 6% since 2018), 50% will report on...