Convening virtually over two days, IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group, a dynamic global group of business and finance leaders, shared their insights on key global trends impacting the future readiness of the accountancy profession.
Together with Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), today the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) released The Professional Accountant’s Role in Data.
As economies digitize, the accountancy profession must adapt to contribute strategically. The Professional Accountant’s Role in Data outlines a new model, the data management value chain, in which accountants can, by building upon key competencies, reimagine their roles to meaningfully contribute to the digital economy.
Stathis Gould, director of advocacy at IFAC says: "This is an urgent and opportune moment for the accountancy profession to leverage the disruption of the expanding digital economy, embrace enhanced roles in the data management value chain, and guide businesses and organizations of all kinds into a sustainable and prosperous future."
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 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
Audit & Assurance
Sustainability
Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB)
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Presentation by Nigel Blakeway, Managing Executive Officer, OMRON Corporation, Chairman, OMRON Management Centers of America, Europe & Asia Pacific, CEO, OMRON Management Center of America and Tsutomu Igaki, Executive Officer | Global Investor & Brand Communications
The IAASB is consulting on its Work Plan for 2022–2023 through an online survey. Guided by its strategic objectives for 2020-2023, the IAASB’s current—and future—work is tailored to serve the public interest. The survey is designed to help the IAASB develop its Work Plan for 2022–2023 through understanding what is important to its stakeholders.
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) today issued a survey on its Work Plan for 2022–2023. Guided by its strategic objectives for 2020-2023, the IAASB’s current—and future—work is tailored to serve the public interest. The survey is designed to help the IAASB develop its Work Plan for 2022–2023 through understanding what is important to its stakeholders.
The survey asks respondents for their views on the IAASB’s ongoing projects and possible future topic priorities. It will be open until Thursday, August 5, 2021. Respondents must submit their views using our survey online tool.
To help stakeholders thoughtfully consider and respond, and conduct any appropriate outreach to consolidate feedback, a Word version of the survey is available on the IAASB website to share questions and prepare responses. The IAASB and this work plan survey will benefit from the new Framework for Activities, developed to provide clearer criteria and increased transparency for project selection and prioritization.
Today, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) published a revised building blocks approach to reporting sustainability information—enhancing its previously issued roadmap, The Way Forward. IFAC hopes to foster discussion on how this approach can deliver a global system for consistent, comparable, and assurable sustainability-related information that best meets the needs of investors and other stakeholders.
IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey said, “As the IFRS Foundation continues to consider establishing a new International Sustainability Standards Board and as jurisdiction-specific initiatives progress, IFAC is lending its voice to clarify how components can best fit together to meet the needs of all stakeholders. The IFRS initiative—as well as jurisdiction-specific initiatives—should build on what already exists, help create or contribute to a global system, and accommodate different views of what information stakeholders require. The building blocks approach makes this possible.”
IFAC supports a new standard-setting board under the IFRS Foundation that can lead to the coordination and harmonization of reporting and provide a baseline of requirements addressing sustainability information that is material to enterprise value. The IFRS Foundation has proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Foundation as it continues to consider establishing a new board. IFAC encourages its member organizations to submit comments to this IFRS Foundation consultation.
IFAC welcomes feedback on the building blocks approach and plans to engage with stakeholders at future IFAC events addressing the broader journey to an enhanced corporate reporting world.
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 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
How Global and Jurisdiction-Level Initiatives Can Work Together
After consultations with the Public Interest Oversight Board, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has published a revised detailed work plan that supersedes the work plan published on February 1, 2021.
The IAASB revised the work plan to account for the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both board operations and stakeholders’ capacity to implement new standards and participate in the IAASB’s due process. Facing the reality of reduced plenary time resulting from remote plenary meetings throughout the remainder of the calendar year, the IAASB is prioritizing the on-time completion of two significant public interest documents—the finalization of ISA 600 (Revised) on Group Audits(expected after the December 2021 IAASB meeting) and a proposed standard for Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities for public consultation (expected after the June 2021 IAASB meeting).
Other updates include that the IAASB will now discuss project proposals for Fraud and Going Concern in September 2021 and March 2022, respectively. The shift in the dates of the project proposals should not materially impact the work timelines for those two projects. The revised work plan also includes an exposure draft for ISA 500 (Audit Evidence) in September 2022.
