The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) has released (IES) 6, Initial Professional Development—Assessment of Professional Competence. The revised education standard will help IFAC member bodies and other professional accountancy organizations understand the learning and development requirements for assessing professional competence, and their obligations in upholding the standards.

The revised standard also addresses elements that are essential to assessing professional competence of an aspiring professional accountant.

Presentation on IFAC's current strategic initiatives and objectives at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)'s International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) conference on accounting standards, corporate transparency, and developing countries.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession with members and associates in 127 countries, held its 35^th Council Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa this week. As part of the meeting, IFAC held its annual seminar, which focused this year on integrated reporting.

The seminar, A Fundamental Shift in Corporate Reporting, featured a keynote address by Prof. Mervyn King SC, chair of the International Integrated Reporting Council and chair of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, which has published the King I, King II, and King III Reports on Corporate Governance.

This year’s seminar focused on drawing upon the experiences and perspectives of integrated reporting in practical terms—the South African experience, how to implement integrated reporting, and how to address the challenges and opportunities for small- and medium-sized entities and accountancy practices.

“This year’s seminar recognized the vital role the accountancy profession plays in bringing integrated reporting to more organizations,” said IFAC President Göran Tidström. “Integrated reporting isn’t just a trend—it reflects global changes in best practices and stakeholder expectations and will provide a more complete picture of the health and wellbeing of organizations.”

The seminar included high-profile speakers including Prof. Alexandra Watson, College of Accounting, University of Cape Town; Malcolm Gray, Portfolio Manager, Responsible Investment Portfolios, Investec Asset Management; Graham Terry, Senior Executive: Strategy and Thought Leadership, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants; Ian Jameson, Chief Advisor, Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Sustainability Division, Eskom; Helen Brand, Chief Executive, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; Michael H. Rea, Partner, Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services; and Nicky van Hille, Director, The Moss Group. Roger Tabor, Chair of IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business Committee, moderated the seminar.

Highlights from the seminar will be available on the IFAC website in the coming weeks.

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. It is comprised of 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) today released for public comment proposed International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 720 (Revised), The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Other Information in Documents Containing or Accompanying Audited Financial Statements and the Auditor’s Report Thereon.

The proposed standard clarifies and enhances the scope and focus of auditor efforts on “other information”–that is, information included in documents containing or accompanying the entity’s audited financial statements. The proposals recognize that significant changes in financial reporting have occurred over the last two decades regarding the information issued in connection with an entity’s financial statements and the manner in which it is shared with users.

“Today, pertinent disclosures are made not only within financial statements, but also outside of them. As preparers endeavor to better communicate with stakeholders, these disclosures are being disseminated through a diverse range of documents as other information that accompanies audited financial statements. Users are attaching greater importance to this information, particularly when it is more qualitative in nature,” notes Prof. Arnold Schilder, IAASB Chairman. “The public interest question is: Is this auditing standard as up-to-date as it needs to be, and does it do enough to ensure that auditors review this other information in the context of their understanding of the audited entity? Our proposals for an enhanced ISA 720 seek to evolve the requirements so that they remain relevant and sufficient in today’s financial reporting environment.”

Under the proposed standard, the auditor is required to read and consider the other information in light of the understanding of the entity and its environment the auditor has acquired during the course of the audit, and to respond appropriately when the auditor identifies a potential material inconsistency in the other information or a material misstatement in the audited financial statements. The proposed ISA 720 expands the documents considered as “other information,” and clarifies and enhances the nature of the auditor’s responsibilities with respect to reading and considering other information. In addition, it includes guidance to assist auditors in determining the nature and extent of their work in considering the other information.

Proposed ISA 720 (Revised) also introduces reporting obligations to explain in the auditor’s report the nature of the auditor's responsibilities relating to the other information and the findings from the auditor's work, to enhance transparency. The proposals do not extend the scope of the auditor’s opinion on the financial statements to cover the other information.

How to Comment
The IAASB invites all stakeholders to comment on its proposals. To access the Exposure Draft or submit a comment, visit the IAASB’s website at www.iaasb.org. Comments on the exposure draft are requested by March 14, 2013.

About the IAASB
The IAASB develops auditing and assurance standards and guidance for use by all professional accountants under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IAASB, and the IAASB Consultative Advisory Group, which provides public interest input into the development of the standards and guidance. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IAASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

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 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today presented its International Gold Service Award to Professor Mervyn King. IFAC President Göran Tidström presented the prestigious award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the accountancy profession, during IFAC’s annual Council Meeting.

In his remarks, Mr. Tidström highlighted Mervyn King’s substantial contributions to corporate governance and integrated reporting. In particular, in his role as chair of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, Mr. King has demonstrated extraordinary foresight and dedication, pioneering the drafting of the international benchmark for corporate governance guidelines known as King I (now King III), which have been lauded for their inclusive and integrated approach. King now presides at the center of the integrated reporting movement, chairing the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), which has been charged with drafting an internationally accepted integrated reporting framework. Prior to the IIRC’s formation, King led the accelerated development of such a framework for South Africa, when the country, in 2010, became one of the first in the world to require publicly listed companies to produce integrated reports. 

“It is my privilege to present the IFAC International Gold Service Award to Mervyn King here in his home country, where his work in corporate governance and integrated reporting has made South Africa a role model for the rest of the world,” said Göran Tidström. “His leadership and achievements have set the bar higher, challenging the profession worldwide to grow and evolve. His contributions have forever changed the way businesses measure and report on their performance, for the betterment of the accountancy profession, the global business community, and society as a whole.”

King’s illustrious and varied career also includes his work as an attorney, arbitrator, mediator, and advisor. He served as a judge in the Supreme Court of South Africa for two years and as the South African judge at the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration in Paris for nine years. He has received numerous academic accolades, including being named Professor Extraordinaire at the University of South Africa in the College of Economic and Management Sciences. He holds an honorary doctor of laws from the University of the Witwatersrand, in addition to numerous honorary appointments and other awards.

About the IFAC International Gold Service Award
The IFAC International Gold Service Award was created by the IFAC Council in 2010 to recognize outstanding individual contributions to the accountancy profession. 

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 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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This Comparison Guide is designed to explain all the revisions to the Statements of Membership Obligations. It provides an explanation of the revisions and serves as a useful tool to assist member organizations and their technical staff to identify changes and understand and address them.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession with members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, along with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Global Public Policy Committee recently concluded the sixth annual Conference for Accounting and Accountability for Regional Economic Growth, or CReCER (Contabilidad y Responsabilidad para el Crecimiento Económico Regional) in Managua, Nicaragua with the support of the Inter-American Accounting Association, an IFAC recognized regional organization. The 2012 CReCER events were hosted and executed by the Colegio de Contadores Públicos de Nicaragua (CCPN), an IFAC member body.

This year’s three-day conference centered on providing quality financial information, which in turn supports economic development, and featured high-level global representatives and leaders in the accountancy profession. Attendance at the conference was high—more than 600 attendees and 80 speakers, including representatives from more than 30 countries from the region and world, participated.

“The discussions and debates that take place at CReCER each year drive strategic objectives and collaborative initiatives for the coming year,” said IFAC Deputy President Warren Allen, who spoke during multiple sessions at CReCER. “This opportunity to discuss how to advance the profession and ensure high-quality financial information in Latin America and the Caribbean is critical and extremely productive.”

The conference received a great deal of support and involvement from the Nicaraguan government. The Minister of Finance and Public Credit, Iván Acosta Montalván, and Dr. Paul Oquist, Minister, Private Secretariat of National Policy, both spoke during two sessions, highlighting the important developments and progress of the Nicaraguan economy and citing the crucial role of high-quality financial information to sustaining future growth. Comandante Bayardo Arce, Economic Advisor to the President of the Republic of Nicaragua, spoke at the closing plenary session, congratulating the CCPN and global partners of the CReCER initiative for holding such a relevant event in Nicaragua. He highlighted the importance of the accounting profession to increasing the transparency and auditability of public finances.

The conference included sessions on implementation of international accounting and auditing standards, integrated reporting, quality assurance and fraud. Additionally, many meetings were held in conjunction with CReCER, including regional standard setters meetings with Arnold Schilder, chairman of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and Andreas Bergmann, chair of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board, and a gathering of the presidents of regional professional accountancy organizations.

Presentations from the conference will be available on the IFAC website soon.

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 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) today released for comment two Exposure Drafts related to its project to develop a Conceptual Framework for the general purpose financial reporting of public sector entities. The Conceptual Framework continues to be the IPSASB’s key strategic objective and is of fundamental importance to the future of global public sector standard setting.

Conceptual Framework Exposure Draft (ED) 2, Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities: Elements and Recognition in Financial Statements, refines the issues highlighted in the Consultation Paper published in 2010 and reflects the IPSASB’s consideration of the responses to that Consultation Paper. Elements are the building blocks from which the financial statements are constructed.

The ED proposes definitions of eight elements: assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, deferred inflows, deferred outflows, ownership contributions, and ownership distributions. It also proposes deferred inflows and deferred outflows as elements in order to distinguish the flows related to the reporting period from flows which relate to another reporting period. Deferred inflows and deferred outflows apply to flows that are provided for use in one or more specified reporting periods and are restricted to non-exchange transactions. The ED also considers how to deal with the uncertainty that can arise over the existence and measurement of elements.

Conceptual Framework Exposure Draft (ED) 3, Measurement of Assets and Liabilities in Financial Statements, identifies the measurement concepts that should guide the IPSASB in the selection of measurement bases for International Public Sector Accounting Standards. The ED stresses the importance of selecting measurement bases that meet the objectives of financial reporting-decision making and accountability. Many assets in the public sector are held for their operational capacity and, therefore, entry values that reflect the cost of purchase are likely to be adopted in many situations.

For liabilities that arise from obligations to provide goods and services to citizens and other eligible beneficiaries, the appropriate measurement basis will often be the cost of fulfillment—that is to say, the current cost of meeting the obligations represented by the liability.

“The Conceptual Framework continues to be IPSASB’s main priority and, when finalized, will underpin IPSASB’s standard-setting activities for many years to come,” said IPSASB Chair Andreas Bergmann. “These two Exposure Drafts propose concepts that deal with key aspects of the financial statements—the elements and the appropriate measurement bases. We strongly encourage all stakeholders to submit comments on the two Exposure Drafts.”

How to Comment
To access the Exposure Drafts and the At-a-Glance documents, which provide summaries of the two Exposure Drafts, or to submit a comment, visit the IPSASB website. Comments on the Exposure Drafts are requested by April 30, 2013. The IPSASB encourages IFAC members, associates, and regional accountancy bodies to promote the availability of these documents to their members and employees.

About the IPSASB
The IPSASB develops accounting standards and guidance for use by public sector entities. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IPSASB are facilitated by IFAC. The IPSASB receives support (both direct financial and in-kind) from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, and the governments of Canada, China, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

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. It is comprised of 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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