Gloria Zvaravanhu joined the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business Advisory Group in January 2020, nominated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (ICAZ).

A Chartered Accountant by profession, she is CEO of ICAZ and was the second female president in ICAZ’s 100-year history. With 17 years of experience in financial management, thirteen of which at Executive Management level.

Gloria has vast experience in the insurance sector, where she served in both life and non-life insurance companies at executive level between the period 2005-2018. She served as a General Manager at NicozDiamond Insurance Limited, a Finance Executive at First Mutual Life and has served on Insurance company Boards in Mozambique and Zambia.

Before joining the insurance sector in 2005, she was a Manager at KPMG Chartered Accountants in both audit and Corporate Finance departments.

She is an alumnus of the prestigious Fortune 500 Global women mentoring program where she was mentored by one of the top ‘50 Most Powerful Women in Business’ in the United States.

She holds a Bachelor of Accountancy degree from Rhodes University, South Africa and a Master in Business Leadership degree from the University of South Africa. She recently completed (October 2019) an LLM degree in International Business Law with the University of Cumbria, UK.

She serves as the Chair of Chengetedzayi Depository Company Board in Zimbabwe and is also the Chairperson of the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe. She serves on several other audit committees in Zimbabwe.

At continental level she serves on the Pan African Federation of Accountants Board where she represents Southern Africa and also serves on the Africa Integrated Reporting Council.

Gloria has won several business accolades in Zimbabwe that include Female Manager of the year (2013), Corporate Governance Professional of the year (2017), Young Professional leader of the year (2018).

Mr. Ajith S Ratnayake was appointed as a member of IPSASB from January 2020. He was nominated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka).

He is the retired founder Director General of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAASMB). He was responsible for building the technical capacity of SLAASMB and setting up its monitoring process of financial reporting and auditing of public interest entities in Sri Lanka.

He represented SLAASMB in the advisory council of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR), and at the Consultative Advisory Groups of IAASB and IESBA. He also represented Sri Lanka at the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on International Standards on Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) and in the working group on Commercial forests of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC).

He was a member of the advisory board of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Sri Lanka and the committee which drafted the Code of Best Practice on Corporate Governance jointly issued by CA Sri Lanka and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He was also a member of the Presidential Commission on Failed Finance Companies in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Ratnayake was responsible for drafting Sri Lanka Public Sector Accounting Standard for Local Authorities (SLPSAS for LAs), Sri Lanka Public Sector Accounting Standards SLPSAS 11 to 20 and Sri Lanka Accounting Standard for Smaller Entities.

He is a fellow member of CA Sri Lanka, CIMA (UK) and ACCA (UK). He was awarded the Management Accounting Price at the final exam of CA Sri Lanka.

His Technical Advisor is Giuseppe Grossi.

Country: Panama (Germany)

Dr. Kamira Sánchez joined the IPSASB in January 2020, as a self-nominee.

Dr. Sánchez is a Senior Manager at EY Germany and is part of the Global Public Sector Accounting team of EY, where she is involved in international IPSAS conversion projects in Europe and Latin America. Previous to this role, she served as head of the Accounting Norms and Continuous Improvements department at the Directorate of National Accounting of the Ministry of Economy and Finances of the Republic of Panama. Among her functions, she was Chair of the Committee of changes to the ERP software being implemented in public sector institutions and she worked on and supervised ERP changes to comply with new accounting standards requirements.

Dr. Sánchez holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena (Germany), a Master degree in Finances from the Universidad del Valle de México (Mexico) and a Bachelor degree in Bilingual Tourism Business Administration from the University of Panama. During her studies, Dr. Sánchez was scholarship holder of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Ministry of Economy and Finances of the Republic of Panama.

Dr. Sánchez is member of the Economists Association of Panama and is affiliated researcher of the Chair of Public Finance in the Faculty of Economics at the Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Germany.

Her Techical advisor is Fabrizio Mocavini.

Mr. D. Scott Showalter joined the IPSASB Board in January 2020, nominated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr. Showalter is a Professor of Practice and Director of the Master of Accounting Program in the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. Prior to joining the faculty in 2008, Mr. Showalter was an audit partner with KPMG LLP, where he retired after a 33-year career. During his career with KPMG, he provided audit and consulting services to large Federal, state and local governments.

Mr. Showalter is the former chair and Board member of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) where he completed his 10-year term in June 2019. He is the past chair of the Board of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and a current member of the AICPA Board of Directors. He also served two terms as a member of the Standing Advisory Group to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. He has served in numerous leaderships positions in the American Accounting Association.

Mr. Showalter earned a BS degree in accounting, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of Richmond and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (active) and Chartered Global Management Accountant.

Patricia Siqueira Varela became a member of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board in January 2020. She was nominated by the Conselho Federal de Contabilidade (CFC), responsible for the regulation and representation of accounting professionals in Brazil.

Prof. Varela is currently a researcher and a professor at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) in the School of Economics, Business and Accounting. She has supervised students in the Program of Postgraduate Studies in Controllership and Accounting and is the leader of the research group Center of Studies in Accounting and Government. Her research and publications focus on public sector accounting and public policies performance.

Prof. Varela also performs the role of standard-setter as a member of both the Advisory Group for the Brazilian Accounting Standards for the Public Sector Accounting at Conselho Federal de Contabilidade and the Technical Committee linked to the National Treasury which is responsible for issuing mandatory standards for public sector entities in all federation levels (municipalities, states and central government).

Prof. Varela holds a master's and a doctor's degree in Controllership and Accounting from the University of São Paulo, and a postdoctoral degree in Public Administration and Government from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo.

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released Revisions to Part 4B of the Code to Reflect Terms and Concepts Used in ISAE 3000 (Revised). Part 4B of the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code) comprises the independence standards for assurance engagements other than audit and review engagements.

The revision fulfills a commitment the IESBA announced in its Strategy and Work Plan, 2019-2023 to review and change Part 4B of the Code to make the part’s provisions  consistent with the revised assurance terms and concepts in the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB’s) International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (Revised), Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information.

The main revisions, developed in coordination with the IAASB, include:

• Changes in key terminology, including a revised definition of the term “assurance client”;
• Amendments to certain independence requirements in light of the revised assurance client definition;
• Greater clarity as to the parties to an assurance engagement and their roles and responsibilities, and the related independence requirements that apply; and
• A clearer distinction between the types of assurance engagement covered in Parts 4A (addressing independence for audit and review engagements) and 4B of the Code.

“It is in the public interest that Part 4B of the Code is consistent with ISAE 3000 (Revised), clear on the applicable independence requirements and, most importantly, sufficiently robust and practicable for assurance practitioners in the field,” said IESBA Chairman Dr. Stavros Thomadakis. “The successful completion of this project reflects the IESBA’s strong commitment towards enhanced communication and coordination with the IAASB, to better serve the needs of stakeholders in today’s global economy.”

About the IESBA

The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is an independent global standard-setting board. The IESBA serves the public interest by setting ethics standards, including auditor independence requirements, which seek to raise the bar for ethical conduct and practice for all professional accountants through a robust, globally operable International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards).

The IESBA believes a single set of high-quality ethics standards enhances the quality and consistency of services provided by professional accountants, thus contributing to public trust and confidence in the accountancy profession. The IESBA sets its standards in the public interest with advice from the IESBA Consultative Advisory Group (CAG) and under the oversight of the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB).

The IPSASB held its fourth meeting of 2019 from December 10-13, 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Department of Finance of Abu Dhabi generously hosted the meeting.

The Public Interest Committee, the body that oversees the standard setting activities of the IPSASB, has launched a public survey on IPSASB governance arrangements. All interested stakeholders are encouraged to participate in this global consultation by February 24, 2020.

Revenue with Performance Obligations
The IPSASB approved ED 70, Revenue with Performance Obligations, and agreed on an exposure period of six months from the date of publication. ED 70 is based on IFRS 15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and has been expanded to apply to binding arrangements which are not necessarily contractual. ED 70 also has a broadened scope with a greater emphasis on the transfer of goods or services to third-party beneficiaries.

This ED, together with EDs 71and 72, is expected to be published at the end of February 2020. EDs 71 and 72 will have the same exposure period.

Please register on the IPSASB website to ensure that you receive updates when this document and EDs 71 and 72 (see below) are published: https://www.ifac.org/user/register

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Revenue Without Performance Obligations
The IPSASB approved ED 71, Revenue without Performance Obligations. ED 71 updates IPSAS 23, Revenue from Non-Exchange Transactions (Taxes and Transfers). It addresses revenue that arises from binding arrangements with present obligations which are not performance obligations, and revenue not related to binding arrangements. 

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Transfer Expenses
The IPSASB approved ED 72, Transfer Expenses. Transfer expenses are transactions where an entity transfers resources to another party without directly receiving anything in return.

The accounting for transfer expenses with performance obligations mirrors the accounting for revenue with performance obligations in ED 70. ED 72 does not mirror ED 71, however, as where there are no performance obligations it requires an expense to be recognized immediately. ED 72 does not address taxation.
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Leases
The IPSASB revisited the objective and scope of the Leases project and evaluated options for moving the project forward against specified criteria. The IPSASB will continue its work on refining the criteria to analyze options and intends to decide on the approach in March 2020.

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Improvements
The IPSASB discussed the responses to ED 68, Improvements to IPSAS, 2019. The IPSASB approved the amendments proposed in ED 68 with no significant changes. The IPSASB also agreed to an effective date of January 1, 2021 for these improvements, except for improvements related to IPSAS 41, Financial Instruments, which will have an effective date of January 1, 2022 to align with the effective date of that standard.

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Measurement
The IPSASB carried out a preliminary review of responses to the Consultation Paper, Measurement.  A number of the issues were raised by respondents related to fair value, including:

• The meaning of fair value in existing IPSAS;
• The interaction of fair value with market value;
• The appropriateness of highest and best use in the public sector; and
• Inconsistency between replacement cost as a measurement basis and a measurement technique to estimate fair value.

The IPSASB also discussed its preliminary view to expense borrowing costs, rather than capitalizing them, noting respondents were split in their views. The IPSASB instructed staff to bring a recommendation forward for its consideration in March 2020.
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Infrastructure Assets
The IPSASB approved the flowchart  for determining whether additional guidance is needed and, if so, whether it should be authoritative or non-authoritative. The flowchart was tested by analyzing issues related to the separation of land under or over infrastructure assets, the control of such land and valuation. The IPSASB instructed staff to revise the draft additional guidance, so that it addresses all the financial reporting issues impacting the accounting for land under or over infrastructure assets. The revised draft guidance will be considered at the March 2020 meeting. 

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Meeting Podcast
A podcast highlighting key points of the December 2019 meeting is now available here.

Next Meeting
The next meeting of the IPSASB will be in New York from March 10-13, 2020. For more information, or to register as an observer, visit the IPSASB website.