Presentation by the chair of the IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee in January 2012 at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India International Conference. 

Speaker Lineup Features Global Accounting Leaders Including Vincenzo La Via, CFO, World Bank Group; Professor the Hon Stephen Martin, Chief Executive, Committee for Economic Development of Australia; Göran Persson, Former Prime Minister of Sweden; The Hon. Ruth Richardson, Former Finance Minister of New Zealand; James Turley, Chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young; Hon. David Walker, Former Comptroller General, USA

The International Federation of Accountants will host The Sovereign Debt Crisis, a Matter of Urgency―From Lessons to Reform, a seminar to take place March 19-20, 2012 in Vienna. In this seminar, IFAC will convene key decision makers, politicians and public finance management leaders to gain a comprehensive understanding of the causes contributing to the international sovereign debt crisis and the steps needed now for meaningful reform.

The seminar’s speakers will include such influential financial and accounting leaders as Vincenzo La Via, Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group; Professor the Hon Stephen Martin, Chief Executive, Committee for Economic Development of Australia; Göran Persson, Former Prime Minister of Sweden; The Hon. Ruth Richardson, Former Finance Minister of New Zealand; and Hon. David Walker, Founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative and Former United States Comptroller General. Seminar attendees will have the opportunity to network with speakers and their fellow professionals. The complete speaker lineup for The Sovereign Debt Crisis, a Matter of Urgency—From Lessons to Reform is included below, or see the agenda and bios.

“The sovereign debt crisis is currently the most globally significant economic event, with a tremendously far-reaching impact,” said Ian Ball, CEO of IFAC. “We’re honored and gratified to have assembled such a distinguished group of speakers, to address the crucial lessons government leaders around the world must take from this crisis—and, just as importantly, the steps urgently needed to achieve lasting reform.”

The Sovereign Debt Crisis, a Matter of Urgency―From Lessons to Reform will take place March 19-20, 2012 at the Hilton Vienna. Event sponsors include CECCAR, Ernst & Young, PwC, and the World Bank.

Registration for the conference is open to the public. For more information about the conference and to register, visit http://sovereigndebt.ifac.org/.

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.

The speaker lineup for The Sovereign Debt Crisis, a Matter of Urgency—From Lessons to Reform is below, or see the agenda and bios:

• Ian Ball, Chief Executive Officer, International Federation of Accountants
• Andreas Bergmann, Chair, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board
• Jón Blöndal, Head of Budgeting and Public Expenditures, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• Robert Dacey, Chief Accountant, the United States Government Accountability Office
  • Prof. Dr. Roger J.M. Dassen RA, Global Managing Director Clients, Services and Talent, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
  • John M. Herhalt, Global Chair, Government and Infrastructure, KPMG LLP
  • Ms. Belén Hernández, Public Accounting Directorate, Spain
  • Vincenzo La Via, Chief Financial Officer, World Bank Group
  • Bo Lundgren, Director General, Swedish National Debt Office
  • Professor the Hon Stephen Martin, Chief Executive, Committee for Economic Development of Australia
  • The Hon. Ruth Richardson, Former New Zealand Finance Minister
  • Göran Persson, Former Prime Minister of Sweden
  • Gerhard Steger, Director General Budget and Public Finance Ministry of Finance, Austria
  • Jan Sturesson, Leader Global Government and Public Services, PwC
  • Göran Tidström, President, International Federation of Accountants
  • James S. Turley, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ernst & Young
  • Nicolas Véron, Senior Fellow, Bruegel–Brussels, Visiting Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics–Washington, D.C.
  • Hon. David M. Walker, Founder, President and CEO, Comeback America Initiative and Former Comptroller General of the U.S.
  • Fritz Zurbrügg, Director, Swiss Federal Finance Administration

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The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has published Investor Demand for Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosures: Implications for Professional Accountants in Business. The report considers trends in investor demand for and use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information, and recommends how professional accountants can better support their organizations in responding to these demands, and ultimately improve the management and reporting of ESG performance.

The report highlights an evolving trend toward greater interest in ESG factors, and integration of these factors and ESG performance information into investment processes and decisions. It also reviews investor approaches to acquire information on ESG factors, including positive and negative screening, engagement, and ESG integration. To alert professional accountants to essential ESG metrics and indicators sought by investors, the report provides a sector-neutral list of core performance indicators most frequently used by investors to evaluate ESG performance, and a review of how investors might consider the financial implications and monetization of these factors.

“As professional accountants both support and fill leadership roles in management operations and control, as well as stakeholder communications, they are well placed to apply accounting discipline and rigor to the collection, analysis, and reporting of ESG data, and to support the incorporation of ESG factors into their organization’s management processes, systems, and reporting,” said Roger Tabor, chair of the PAIB Committee. “Their involvement in improving the relevance and quality of their organization’s internal and external business reporting will be critical to meet the challenge of increasing the use of ESG information.”

In response to the challenges of ESG integration, the report recommends five actions for the accountancy profession and professional accountants in business:

• engage investors effectively to understand their information needs and communicate performance;
• incorporate ESG factors and non-financial performance information into governance and accountability arrangements to improve information and disclosure quality;
• link financial and non-financial performance and outcomes to improve understanding of sustainable value creation;
• ensure that ESG disclosures meet investor needs by being material, timely, consistent, and comparable in order to improve usefulness of reporting and greater transparency; and
• bring together data that may be dispersed in different parts of the organization or its supply chain to support internal and external decision making.

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 the 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 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 report from the Professional Accountants in Business Committee considers trends in investor demand for and use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information, and recommends how professional accountants can better support their organizations in responding to these demands, and ultimately improve the management and reporting of ESG performance.

An Executive Summary of the report is also available below.

Regulatory burdens and economic woes continue to top the list of challenges faced by small- and medium-sized accountancy practices (SMPs) and their clients, according to the fourth quarter SMP Quick Poll results released today by IFAC.

Burden of regulation and economic uncertainty were tied for the top challenge faced by practitioners’ SME clients, with nearly 30% of respondents choosing each. Difficulties accessing finance followed closely behind with 25%. Similarly, for accountants within small practices, keeping up with new standards and regulations (41%) ranked as the top challenge, followed by attracting and retaining clients (25%).

Commenting on the results, SMP Committee Chair Giancarlo Attolini said, “Once again, this poll has provided invaluable insights that help us and our member organizations better understand the concerns of SMPs and their small- and medium-sized entity (SME) clients globally, as well as identify significant trends in the SMP sector.”

As a whole, pessimism increased since the August-September 2011 poll was conducted, which may be due in part to the high European response rate in the fourth quarter and deepening debt crisis across the region. Overall, in the fourth quarter poll, only 29% reported that business was better in 2011 than 2010, while nearly 50% of those from North and South America said that business was better. Looking forward, over one-third of respondents expect an improvement in business performance in 2012 over 2011, while 44% expect no change, showing that respondents are slightly more optimistic about the year to come. When asked about the main driver of growth for their practice, revenue from new clients (38%) came out on top with nearly twice the number of responses as revenue from existing clients (20%).

See these and additional results broken down by size of practice and region in the IFAC SMP Quick Poll: 2011 Round-Up, which includes the fourth quarter poll results, as well as trending data from key questions that were asked in each of the four polls throughout 2011.

The fourth quarter poll received 2,441 responses and was conducted in seven languages from November 17 to December 19, 2011. IFAC wishes to thank those member bodies and regional organizations that translated and/or helped promote the poll to their members.

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 (SMPs). The committee develops guidance and tools and works to ensure the needs of the SMPs 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. 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 report summarizes and analyzes the responses from the fourth quarter poll of 2011, conducted from November 17 to December 19, 2011. The report also illustrates the SMP Committee’s activities, undertaken in collaboration with IFAC member bodies, that respond to the issues, challenges, and needs of SMPs as identified by the findings.The fourth quarter poll received 2,441 responses and was conducted in seven languages.