Who We Are

IFAC Officers

IFAC Board of Directors

IFAC Senior Management

  • Past Presidents

    IFAC is led by its President, who is nominated by a member body and appointed by the IFAC Council. The following individuals have served as President of IFAC:

    1. Reinhard Goerdeler, Germany (1977–1980)
    2. Gordon Cowperthwaite, Canada 1980–1982)
    3. Washington SyCip, Philippines (1982–1985)
    4. Robert May, United States (1985–1987)
    5. Richard Wilkes, United Kingdom (1987–1990) 
    6. Bertil Edlund, Sweden (1990–1992)
    7. Peter Agars, Australia (1992–1995)
    8. Juan Herrera, Dominican Republic (1995–1997)
    9. Frank Harding, United Kingdom (1997–2000)
    10. Tsuguoki Fujinuma, Japan (2000–2002)
    11. René Ricol, France (2002–2004)
    12. Graham Ward, United Kingdom (2004–2006)
    13. Fermín del Valle, Argentina (2006–2008)
    14. Robert Bunting, United States (2008–2010)
    15. Göran Tidström, Sweden (2010-2012)
    16. Warren Allen, New Zealand (2012-2014)
    17. Olivia Kirtley, United States (2014-2016)
    18. Rachel Grimes, Australia (2016-2018)
    19. Dr. In-Ki Joo, Korea, Republic of (2018-2020)
    20. Alan Johnson, United Kingdom (2020-2022)
    21. Asmâa Resmouki, Morocco (2022-2024)

    IFAC's current President is Jean Bouquot, who became President in November 2024.

  • IFAC Global Leadership Award

    IFAC recognizes exceptional individuals who have made a groundbreaking and lasting impact on the global accountancy profession or contributed to advancing IFAC’s vision and strategic objectives.

    The IFAC Global Leadership Award, presented at the annual IFAC Council meeting, honors these outstanding contributions.

     

    • Man smiling and holding a plaque

      Andreas Bergmann, Switzerland

    • Woman smiling and holding a plaque

      Sheila Fraser, Canada

    The annual IFAC Global Leadership Award, established in 2017, recognizes outstanding individuals who have made groundbreaking contributions to advancing the global accountancy profession.

    Prior to 2017, IFAC had two Awards—the Gold Service Award (similar to the current Global Leadership Award) and the Sempier Award, which was presented every four years at the World Congress of Accountants.

    1. Gordon Cowperthwaite, Canada, Sempier Award Recipient (1997)
    2. Sir Bryan Carsberg UK, Sempier Award Recipient (2002)
    3. Marilyn Pendergast USA, Sempier Award Recipient (2010)
    4. Robert Mednick, USA, Sempier Award Recipient (2010)
    5. Stephen Zeff, USA, Gold Service Award Recipient (2011)
    6. Sir David Tweedie, UK, Gold Service Award Recipient (2011)
    7. Mervyn King, South Africa, Gold Service Award Recipient (2012)
    8. Ndung'u Gathinji, Kenya, Sempier Award Recipient (2014)
    9. Ian Ball, New Zeland, Gold Service Award Recipient (2014)
    10. René Ricol, France, Global Leadership Award Recipient (2018)
    11. Tsuguoki (Aki) Fujinuma, Japan, Global Leadership Award Recipient (2019)
    12. Ana Maria Elorietta, Brazil/Argentina, Global Leadership Award Recipient (2020)
    13. Paul Druckman, UK, Global Leadership Award Recipient (2021)
    14. Ed Olowo-Okere, Nigeria, Global Leadership Award Recipient (2022)
    15. Olivia Kirtley, USA, Global Leadership Award Recipient (2022)
    16. Charles Tilley, UK, Global Leadership Award Recipient (2023)

    The IFAC Nominating Committee is responsible for recommending Award recipients for the IFAC Board’s approval. The nomination process begins with an invitation from IFAC’s CEO to Member Organizations, typically running from January 31 to March 31.  

    Each nomination must include a:

    • Completed nomination form; and
    • Signed letter by the leadership of the nominating IFAC member organization, outlining 3-4 key reasons why the nominated individual should receive the award.

    For any questions, please contact nominations@ifac.org.

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