Este documento analiza las consideraciones de interés público relacionados con la aplicación de las Normas Internacionales de Auditoría (NIA), fijada por el Consejo de Normas Internacionales de Auditoría y (IAASB), para las auditorías de pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME).

Los gobiernos deben implementar los mecanismos institucionales necesarios para mejorar la transparencia de gestión financiera del sector público y la rendición de cuentas. Una parte integral y esencial de estos acuerdos es el uso del principio de devengo contable-a través de la adopción y aplicación de las Normas Internacionales de Contabilidad del Sector Público (IPSAS), que promueven una mayor transparencia y rendición de cuentas en las finanzas del sector público y permite un mejor control de la deuda pública y pasivos de sus verdaderas implicaciones económicas.

Una característica distintiva de la profesión de contador es su obligación de actuar en el interés público. Pero no siempre es evidente lo que esto significa y cómo los contadores pueden determinar si están cumpliendo con esta expectativa. IFAC, mediante el desarrollo de este documento de posición política, está tratando de avanzar en su comprensión de este importante asunto.

Convergencia Regulatoria Global es un elemento esencial de la globalización de los mercados de capitales y de deuda, y es importante en la promoción de la comparabilidad de la información financiera, reduciendo al mínimo los efectos de los riesgos económicos sistémicos, y ayudando a crear una igualdad de condiciones para la competencia internacional. Para la profesión contable, la convergencia normativa incluye la adopción e implementación de información financiera, auditoría, aseguramiento y normas de independencia del auditor, de alta calidad aceptada internacionalmente.

Este reporte contiene provisiones de suministro de información a las partes interesadas de la organización más allá de lo dispuesto en la información financiera tradicional y estados financieros; y puede proporcionar importantes vínculos entre que los informes financieros y otros informes de la organización. IFAC apoya firmemente la labor de la IIRC en el desarrollo de su marco IR, que es un ejemplo de tales informes mejorados.

IFAC considera que el establecimiento de un sistema integrado y efectivo de gobierno, gestión de riesgos y control interno es deseable para todos los tipos de organizaciones y puede hacer una valiosa contribución para lograr la sostenibilidad organizacional. Cuando las organizaciones fallan, los costes para la sociedad pueden ser considerables.

IFAC raises questions about the claims made in the article, "The Virtues of Mandatory Audit Rotation," and focuses the debate on evidence-based measures to further enhance audit quality--and ultimately the quality of financial reporting--as well as regulatory consistency across jurisdictions.

IFAC submitted a comment letter to the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB)'s Consultation Paper, Proposals to Improve the Regulatory Regime for Listed Entity Auditors. IFAC commends the FSTB on issuing a very thorough and thoughtful consultation paper that addresses a range of matters that aims to improve the regulatory regime for listed entity auditors in Hong Kong.

There are positive signs the sovereign debt crisis is easing. The Greek and Portuguese governments have re-entered the bond markets and Portugal is poised to become the second Eurozone country, after Ireland, to exit its bailout arrangements.

Therefore, it is timely to reflect on what has been done since the bailout programs were introduced and since lenders to the Greek government wrote off significant losses on their debt holdings. Austerity measures have been implemented and government cash reserves built up, but much still needs to be done to raise the general standard of government reporting, transparency, and accountability.

We must not forget too quickly the lessons of poor government reporting—that in some cases was misleading.

At the heart of the issue remains a concern: private sector companies raising funds from investors on the capital markets are required to provide audited, accrual-based, financial statements, yet too many governments—even ones with bonds on the capital markets—don’t follow the same practices. In fact, many do not even use accrual accounting.

It has now been over a year since the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors' Meeting in Moscow declared a “goal of strengthening the public sector balance sheet” and of “looking at transparency and comparability of public sector reporting, and monitoring the impact of financial sector vulnerabilities on public debt.”

An integral part of promoting such transparency and comparability is accrual-based financial reporting in accordance with high-quality, globally-accepted standards, such as the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs).

As one response to the G-20, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank—along with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)—have progressed a review of the governance of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). Additionally, the European Commission, through Eurostat, initiated work to consider how public sector financial reporting can be improved within the European Union. It noted that IPSASs “represent an indisputable reference for potential development of European standards.”

“IFAC is encouraged by several initiatives that are currently underway; in particular, strengthening the current governance arrangements of the IPSASB will further enhance the credibility of IPSASs and their influence on public sector financial reporting,” said Fayezul Choudhury, Chief Executive Officer of IFAC. “However, there is much more that needs to be done, and we believe that the G-20 has a key role to play in ensuring that momentum is maintained and governments recognize the benefits of enhancing financial management and reporting—to ultimately improve transparency and accountability.”

IFAC strongly recommends that, throughout 2014 and into the coming years, the G-20—in particular, finance ministers and central bank governors—continue to focus on this critical matter. To promote greater adoption of IPSASs, IFAC believes that these standards should be added to the Financial Stability Board’s list of standards that are designated as deserving of priority implementation.

Furthermore, as part of its key strategic focus IFAC will continue to promote the need for enhanced public sector reporting and financial management through its recently launched Accountability Now! initiative, which aims to promote awareness of the issue, facilitate guidance on implementation of IPSASs, and encourage the development of needed technical capacity.

The recent European Parliament vote on statutory audit legislation marks the latest stage of the European audit reform process and concludes nearly four years of discussion and debate.

As the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has stated many times, we believe a primary objective of audit regulatory reform should be to further enhance audit quality, and ultimately the quality of financial reporting. In a highly interconnected global economy, we see regulatory convergence across jurisdictions as a critical part of meeting this objective.

As a result, we welcome aspects of the European reforms that adopt a globally consistent approach. However, other aspects of the legislation—perhaps ones introduced in order to ensure its successful passage—promote regulatory divergence and fragmentation.  

“We strongly support Europe’s step toward adopting International Standards on Auditing. These high-quality international auditing standards are globally accepted, and are currently being used or adopted in over 90 jurisdictions around the world, including many countries in Europe,” said Fayez Choudhury, chief executive officer of IFAC.

“However, we are concerned that other parts of the legislation provide individual member states with options that will create a patchwork of regulation across the union. Not only will Europe be out of step with other major jurisdictions, such as the US and Canada, but member states will potentially be out of step with each other. Just a few years ago, the oft-cited mantra was ‘global problems require global solutions.’ The stakes are high and the rest of the world will certainly be focused on what happens in Europe. Failure to decide a consistent approach to audit regulation within Europe does not auger well for the chances of agreement among the global community.”

In January, IFAC highlighted the impact of the failure of achieving global regulatory convergence: stifled business confidence, economic stability, and ambitions for a sustainable recovery. In areas including auditor independence—in particular, mandatory audit firm rotation and the provision of non-audit services—the European legislation is unclear and ambiguous, and permits differences between its member states. In addition, it differs from legislation in the many other jurisdictions—and yet will impose regulatory requirements upon these jurisdictions.

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 179 members and associates in 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.