This guide is intended to assist IFAC members and potential members in developing sustainable capacity. In particular, the guide is designed to assist professional accountancy organizations in developing qualified accounting technicians through education, training, and assessment of skills and competence.

The guide also recommends professional accounting organizations provide ongoing professional development of accounting technicians and have activities in place to monitor their compliance with ethical requirements.

Thank you, Tim, for the introduction. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here today. I note that I am in the after-lunch panel, I am the last of four speakers, and my topic is accounting. Not a good start!

My topic is government transparency and the role financial reporting standards can play. I will draw particular attention to IPSASs, but I will come to that rather than start there. The subject of this panel discussion is "New Rules and Regulations for All." My component of this session is not so much new as more necessary and more urgent than ever before.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) today released its consultation paper, Enhancing the Value of Auditor Reporting: Exploring Options for Change, to obtain views on enhancing the quality, relevance and value of auditor reporting on an international basis.

The consultation paper seeks to determine whether there are common views among users of audited financial statements and other stakeholders about the usefulness of auditor reporting. It describes issues with current financial reporting, including a perceived “information gap,” identified by some stakeholders. It then sets out possible options for change and seeks input as to whether such options might be effective in enhancing auditor reporting and the communicative value of the auditor’s report.

“The auditor communicates to financial statement users primarily through the auditor's report,” noted Prof. Arnold Schilder, IAASB Chairman. “Over the past several years, the IAASB has developed International Standards on Auditing addressing auditor communication and reporting with the aim to address the expectations gap and, more recently, to promote international consistency in auditor reporting. The IAASB believes that now is the time for a more fundamental review of auditor reporting to ensure, in the public interest, that it can meet the information needs of financial statement users in a global business environment with increasingly complex financial reporting requirements.”

The IAASB is also seeking information about the potential implications of changes in auditor reporting, as well as about possible implementation challenges. The paper recognizes that not all of the options explored are able to be implemented by the IAASB on its own—some would require collaboration with national standard setters, regulators and/or legislators to develop or implement.

“This consultation is aimed at gathering views from around the world to inform the IAASB about whether there is consensus about the need to enhance auditor reporting and, if so, how an enhanced model might be achieved,” said James Gunn, IAASB Technical Director. “Investors and financial analysts have signalled to us they want additional, and more pertinent, information for their decision making. The IAASB wants to better understand these views as well the views of others, including users of audited financial statements of small- and medium-sized entities and public sector organizations, preparers, auditors and other key participants in the financial reporting process.”

How to Comment
The IAASB invites all stakeholders to respond to its consultation paper. To access the consultation paper or submit a comment, visit the IAASB’s website at www.ifac.org/publications-resources/enhancing-value-auditor-reporting-exploring-options-change. Comments on the Consultation Paper are requested by September 16, 2011.

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 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. 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.

CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, together with the Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), hosted a forum for local professional accountants this week. The focus of the forum was on how professional accountants in business can support their organizations to improve governance practices through the integration of financial and non-financial information into their reporting, including a focus on environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors.

The forum and subsequent PAIB Committee meeting, held in Melbourne, included speakers from National Australia Bank, VicSuper (a retirement/pension provider), Macquarie Securities, KPMG, the University of Melbourne, the Water Accounting Standards Board (Australia), and the International Integrated Reporting Committee's content working group. A key focus of the discussions was how integrated reporting can drive good governance practices, including new systems and processes to measure, analyze, and report an organization’s environmental, social, and economic performance.

“Professional accountants help their organizations recognize the importance of incorporating ESG factors into functions and processes—from strategic planning and goal setting to external communications and reporting,” said Roger Tabor, chair of the PAIB Committee. “The speakers at the PAIB Forum and subsequent committee meeting served to help us better understand how organizations and their investors are managing ESG issues, and incorporating ESG into valuations and decision making.”

The forum was attended by approximately 150 delegates and the main conclusions were:

• Integrated reporting needs to reflect an organization’s strategy and values, as well as how it is managed in all social, environmental, and economic dimensions of performance;
• The process of integrated reporting, in turn, is a powerful tool to help drive an organization’s strategic agenda, providing management with key drivers of performance;
  Integrated reporting has to be open and transparent by reflecting both improvements in performance as well as weaknesses; and
• Pension fund investors, as well as some other institutional investors, are increasingly looking for financial implications of ESG factors to understand how an organization’s strategy and operations are affecting the numbers and key measures of performance.

The International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC), of which IFAC is a participant, is moving quickly and with wide stakeholder support to develop a globally accepted international framework for integrated reporting that brings together the various ESG reporting dimensions. The framework will be designed to make reporting more relevant for organizations, their shareholders, and their other stakeholders, to reduce the cost and complexity of reporting, and to provide a better basis to determine the cost of capital. The IIRC’s discussion paper is expected in 2011 and will be available at on the IIRC website.

Integrated Reporting and Sustainability Resources

• CPA Australia
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
• International Federation of Accountants

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.

The launch of the Pan-African Federation of Accountants (PAFA)/Fédération Panafricaine des Experts-Comptables (FEPEC) is a historical event for the accountancy profession and the African continent, according to the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession, with members and associates in 125 countries.

PAFA is composed of 37 professional accountancy organizations from 35 countries, which have joined together to give voice to Africa’s economies and strategy on the global stage.

The PAFA President, Major General Sebastian Owuama, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, stated: “As the economies of African countries continue to grow, the contribution of the accountancy profession to sound corporate and public sector financial reporting and good governance is now more important than ever. PAFA will accelerate the development of the profession and strengthen the voice of the profession within Africa and worldwide.”

The PAFA launch in Dakar, on May 5, 2011, was hosted by Ordre National des Experts Comptables et Comptables Agrées du Sénégal (ONECCA) with the strong support of IFAC and the World Bank. Dr. Mussa J. Assad, National Board of Accountants and Auditors, Tanzania, was named vice president. The PAFA Secretariat will be hosted by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in Johannesburg.

“The formation of PAFA demonstrates the commitment of the African accountancy profession, acting in the public interest, to strengthen its means of collaboration and to further develop the profession to support the emerging economies on the continent,” said Göran Tidström, IFAC President.

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.

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has issued proposed International Good Practice Guidance titled Predictive Business Analytics: Forward-Looking Measures to Improve Business Performance. The guidance is designed to help professional accountants working in commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and not-for-profit sectors, as well as their organizations, embrace predictive analytics to achieve better forward-looking performance insights.

Predictive business analytics help professional accountants anticipate future events, forecast possible outcomes, and select actions and decisions to improve the performance of their organizations in response to changing market and industry dynamics.

“Today, more than ever, professional accountants in business must be capable of assisting their organizations to implement and utilize predictive business analytics,” said Roger Tabor, chair of the PAIB Committee. “The guiding principles steer an organization in executing its strategies and facilitating decision making to improve strategy execution and operations throughout the organization.”

The PAIB Committee undertook this project to help contend with the rising expectations of professional accountants in business. The quality of management information expected by internal business users is expanding, both in terms of the range of data to be considered and the level of required analysis. From strategic issues to routine tasks, all executives, managers, and operational staff expect higher-quality information from professional accountants to support management and organizational decision making.

Professional accountancy organizations and other interest parties are encouraged to respond to the proposed guidance and help improve its applicability to professional accountants in organizations of all sizes.

How to Comment
The PAIB Committee invites all stakeholders to comment. To access the exposure draft and submit a comment, visit Professional Accountants in Business on the IFAC website. Comments on the exposure draft are requested by July 29, 2011.

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