The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee published this paper to support the global accountancy profession in responding to changing expectations of society, financial markets, and organizations, and promotes the value of professional accountants in business to their organizations. Since organizational needs are evolving faster than ever, professional accountants need to adapt to these changes to best serve their employers, and maintain relevance and public trust.

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today published Competent and Versatile: How Professional Accountants in Business Drive Sustainable Organizational Success, which supports the global accountancy profession in responding to changing expectations of society, financial markets, and organizations, and promotes the value of professional accountants in business to their organizations.

Organizational needs are evolving faster than ever, and professional accountants need to adapt to these changes to best serve their employers, and maintain relevance and public trust. With this new publication, the PAIB Committee is striving to support the global accountancy profession and help its members guide their organizations to create sustainable value.

"In today's tough global economic climate, organizations can fail because their drive for short-term success causes them to overlook factors vital for their long-term survival,” commented Roger Tabor, IFAC PAIB Committee chair. “So, in Competent and Versatile, we focus on achieving success that can be sustained. Professional accountants have the right instincts and tools to help their organizations maintain the right balance to do this. But they must—and can—be adaptable to new challenges and supported in this by their professional associations."

This publication identifies eight drivers of sustainable organizational success—what organizations need to do to achieve and sustain success in light of opportunities and challenges in the business environment. These drivers are the focus of organizations striving to achieve lasting success, and, therefore, provide a basis for determining the expected key areas of competency for professional accountants in business.

This employer-driven approach is aimed at helping the global accountancy profession facilitate sustainable organizational success through the education, training, and development of professional accountants. The publication, and accompanying employer-focused brochure, is intended to support IFAC members and associates in understanding and promoting the diverse contribution of professional accountants in business as creators, enablers, preservers, and reporters of sustainable value.

About the PAIB Committee
The PAIB Committee serves IFAC member bodies and professional accountants worldwide who work in commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and not-for-profit sectors. Its aim is to promote and contribute to the value of professional accountants in business by increasing awareness of the important roles professional accountants play, supporting member bodies in enhancing the competence of their members, and facilitating the communication and sharing of good practices and ideas.

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 164 members and associates in 125 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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Below you will find an update of recent and upcoming IFAC Translations & Permissions news. One of IFAC's primary objectives is to contribute to the development of international standards and guidance that enable accountants worldwide to provide high-quality services in the public interest. To achieve this objective, IFAC strives to make its publications widely available by enabling individuals to freely download them from its website and permitting interested parties to reproduce and translate them.

In this Issue

1. Highlights of 2011 Translations Achievements to Date
2. IFAC and the World Bank Partnership
3. Update on the Russian Translations Meeting
4. CReCER Highlights Need for Spanish and Portuguese Translations
5. What to Watch for in Q3 and Q4
6. New IFAC Website Coming Soon
7. Request for Translation Proposals
8. Important Notes Regarding IFAC Translations; Q&As and Other Resource

1.    Highlights of 2011 Translations Achievements to Date

IFAC continues to encourage a single, high-quality translation per language, and is pleased to highlight the following recent completed translations:

• The Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements - 2010 Edition was published in:
• Arabic - by the Arab Society of Certified Accountants (Jordan)
• Chinese - by the China Financial and Economic Publishing House, on behalf of the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China
• Russian - by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan 
• The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)'s clarified standards have been published in several additional languages, including Bulgarian, Danish, Georgian, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, and Ukrainian. 
• A synoptic version (English/German) of the 2010 edition of the Handbook of International Quality Control, Auditing, Review, Other Assurance, and Related Services Pronouncements-Part 1 was published by Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (Germany), in cooperation with Institut Österreichischer Wirtschaftsprüfer (Austria), and Treuhand-Kammer (Switzerland)
• Translations of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants - 2010 Edition were published in Czech, Finnish, German, Polish, and Turkish
• Arabic translations of IFAC's Professional Accountants in Business Committee's Good Practice Guidance documents, Evaluating and Improving Governance in Organizations and Evaluating and Improving Costing in Organizations, were published by the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants
• Translations of the following policy statements/positions in the five official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish) are now available on the IFAC website:
• Policy for Reproducing, or Translating and Reproducing, Publications Issued by the International Federation of Accountants (December 2008)
• Policy for Translating and Reproducing Standards Issued by the International Federation of Accountants (December 2008)
• Modifications to International Standards of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board - A Guide for National Standard Setters that Adopt the IAASB's International Standards but Find It Necessary to Make Limited Modifications (Policy Position, July 2006)

If you know of other translations not currently listed in the translations database, or if you would like to translate one or more of our publications, please contact us at permissions@ifac.org.

2. IFAC and the World Bank Partnership 

IFAC and the World Bank have signed an agreement to be joint translating bodies for the Spanish translation of the 2011 Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Standards. A Call for Nominations for Principal Translator and several Review Committee members was issued, and 24 high-quality nominations representing 14 countries were received. Based on the recently signed agreement between IFAC and the IFRS Foundation, this project will use the Spanish translation of IFRS as the basis for the translated IPSAS in order to achieve a high level of quality and consistency. Please see the upcoming issue of IFAC News for more details, including the names of the selected Principal Translator and Review Committee members.

3. Update on the Russian Translations Meeting

We previously reported on a meeting held at the 2010 World Congress of Accountants with representatives from numerous Russian-speaking organizations (mainly IFAC member bodies and associates) to discuss the possibility of collaborating on future Russian language translations of IFAC publications, including the IAASB's clarified standards. A project framework has now been established--led by the Russian Collegium of Auditors--to work toward a single, widely acceptable Russian language translation of the Handbook of International Quality Control, Auditing, Review, Other Assurance, and Related Services Pronouncements - Part 1. The project framework establishes a Review Committee consisting of two parts: experts and key stakeholders in Russia, and experts nominated from other Russian-speaking countries with an interest in using the translated standards. This translation will be performed using Trados translation memory software, which will help ensure a high-quality translation while also reducing processing time and the future need to perform multiple or new translations.

4. CReCER Highlights Need for Spanish and Portuguese Translations

Plenary and roundtable sessions held during the recent CReCER event in Buenos Aires, Argentina reinforced the need for high-quality and sustainable Spanish and Portuguese translations of standards and other materials published by IFAC in order to further adoption and implementation efforts in the region. We are seeing unprecedented cooperation to achieve a single and widely acceptable Spanish language translation of the IAASB's clarified standards, the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, and relevant implementation guidance documents from IFAC's Small and Medium Practices Committee. The Latin American Review Committee, consisting of representatives from IFAC member bodies in eight Spanish-speaking countries, is also making significant contributions to these translation efforts. The IFAC and World Bank partnership for the Spanish translation of the 2011 Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Standards mentioned above is also a notable example of efforts to address some of the translation needs discussed during the CReCER event. Portuguese translations of the IAASB's clarified standards, as well as SME/SMP guidance documents, have also been performed and a Portuguese translation of the Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Standards is in progress.

5. What to Watch for in Q3 and Q4

• 2011 Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Standards in Arabic
• 2010 Handbook of International Quality Control, Auditing, Review, Other Assurance, and Related Services Pronouncements in Chinese
• 2009 Handbook of International Standards on Auditing and Quality Control in Spanish
• Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (revised 2009) in Chinese, Russian, and Spanish

IFAC's Small and Medium Practices Committee's Guide to Using International Standards on Auditing in the Audits of Small- and Medium-Sized Entities, Second Edition, Guide to Quality Control for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices, Second Edition, and Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices in Chinese and Spanish.

6.  New IFAC Website Coming Soon

We are currently in the process of redesigning the IFAC website to better suit your needs. The new site will feature a clean and modern design, a more intuitive architecture/navigation, expanded content, and topical and timely issues and insights. Since our information will be organized around issues and outputs--and include cross-referencing and tagging--it will be easier to find the information you're looking for, as well as related resources.

We're looking forward to launching the site later in 2011, and to hearing your feedback.

7.  Request for Translation Proposals

IFAC would especially welcome translation proposals for the following standards:

• Arabic, Chinese, or French translations of the Handbook of International Education Pronouncements - 2010 Edition
• French translation of the Guide to Using International Standards on Auditing in the Audits of Small- and Medium-Sized Entities, Second Edition

8.  Important Notes Regarding IFAC Translations; Q&As and Other Resources

• IFAC's publications are copyrighted material. Please refer to our relevant policy statements at www.ifac.org/Translations and always ask permission before reproducing or translating any IFAC publications. You can ask for permission by contacting permissions@ifac.org.
• IFAC member bodies and other stakeholders are among our best resources for keeping the Translations Database up to date. Always feel free to alert us to any errors or issues.
• Use your fellow IFAC members and stakeholders as a resource in your reproduction and translation efforts. Cooperating with other IFAC bodies helps to reduce duplication of efforts and leads to more efficient use of existing resources. You will also find a Questions and Answers document at: www.ifac.org/Translations.

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 164 members and associates in 125 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce. 

This article, prepared by SMP Committee staff, summarizes key elements of the International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) 1 and features five tips to help SMPs apply the standard in a cost-effective manner.

This list of resources was developed as a companion piece to Leveraging XBRL for Value in Organizations.

If your organization has resources dedicated to XBRL that you would like to have appear in this listing, please email them to vincenttophoff@ifac.org.

This document was updated in November 2012.

(New York/August 1, 2011) – The Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today released an updated version of its Guide to Quality Control for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices (QC Guide). Intended to help SMPs successfully and cost effectively implement International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) 1, the third edition of the guide features enhancements to the two sample manuals as well as other refinements for clarity and consistency with ISQC 1.

First released in 2009 and developed with CGA-Canada, the guide contains the requirements set out in the standard in addition to implementation guidance, including discussion material and a case study that can be used as a basis for training. It also contains a range of tools, including checklists and two sample manuals, which have been modified to better illustrate their compatibility with ISQC 1.

“With their limited resources, SMPs may feel burdened by the requirements in ISQC 1. The guide is intended to help mitigate that burden and help SMPs obtain the most benefit from implementing the standard,” said SMP Committee Chair Sylvie Voghel. “Effective quality control systems are key to helping ensure SMPs provide their clients with high-quality assurance and related services, which contributes to the quality of the profession overall and our mission to serve the wider public interest.”

The updated QC Guide, as well as an article with tips for implementing ISQC 1, can be downloaded free of charge from the SMP Publications and Resources area of IFAC’s website. See the Translations Database for translations of the guides by member bodies and other organizations. In addition to the guide, the International Center for Small and Medium Practices provides access to numerous free resources from IFAC and our member bodies (see relevant links).

About the SMP Committee
The SMP Committee of the International Federation of Accountants represents the interests of professional accountants operating in small- and medium-sized practices and other professional accountants who provide services to small- and medium-sized entities. The committee develops guidance and tools, and works to ensure the needs of the SMP and small- and medium-sized entity (SME) sectors are considered by standard setters, regulators, and policy makers. The committee also speaks out on behalf of SMPs to raise awareness of their role and value, especially in supporting SMEs, and the importance of the small business sector overall.

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 164 members and associates in 125 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

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