The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession with members and associates in 125 countries is seeking an outstanding individual to become its next chief executive officer (CEO), based in New York City. The candidate will succeed current CEO Ian Ball, whose contract is set to expire in February 2013 and who is not seeking a further term. The executive search firm Korn/Ferry has been retained for the search. IFAC’s management team will partner with Korn/Ferry to actively engage IFAC member bodies, the accountancy community, and other stakeholders in the recruitment process to encourage a diverse and international applicant base. IFAC is initiating the recruitment process in the fourth quarter of 2011 to allow time for a comprehensive search, Board approval, and relocation, and to provide the new CEO with a positive and seamless transition before Ian Ball’s departure.

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today published Competent and Versatile: How Professional Accountants in Business Drive Sustainable Organizational Success, which supports the global accountancy profession in responding to changing expectations of society, financial markets, and organizations, and promotes the value of professional accountants in business to their organizations. Organizational needs are evolving faster than ever, and professional accountants need to adapt to these changes to best serve their employers, and maintain relevance and public trust. With this new publication, the PAIB Committee is striving to support the global accountancy profession and help its members guide their organizations to create sustainable value. "In today's tough global economic climate, organizations can fail because their drive for short-term success causes them to overlook factors vital for their long-term survival,” commented Roger Tabor, IFAC PAIB Committee chair. “So, in Competent and Versatile, we focus on achieving success that can be sustained. Professional accountants have the right instincts and tools to help their organizations maintain the right balance to do this. But they must—and can—be adaptable to new challenges and supported in this by their professional associations."

The Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today released an updated version of its Guide to Quality Control for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices (QC Guide). Intended to help SMPs successfully and cost effectively implement International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) 1, the third edition of the guide features enhancements to the two sample manuals as well as other refinements for clarity and consistency with ISQC 1. First released in 2009 and developed with CGA-Canada, the guide contains the requirements set out in the standard in addition to implementation guidance, including discussion material and a case study that can be used as a basis for training. It also contains a range of tools, including checklists and two sample manuals, which have been modified to better illustrate their compatibility with ISQC 1. “With their limited resources, SMPs may feel burdened by the requirements in ISQC 1. The guide is intended to help mitigate that burden and help SMPs obtain the most benefit from implementing the standard,” said SMP Committee Chair Sylvie Voghel. “Effective quality control systems are key to helping ensure SMPs provide their clients with high-quality assurance and related services, which contributes to the quality of the profession overall and our mission to serve the wider public interest.”

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) today released for public exposure a proposed revision of International Education Standard (IES) 5, Practical Experience Requirements. IES 5 currently prescribes the practical experience International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) member bodies should require before qualification as a professional accountant. In addition, this IES can be helpful to educational organizations, employers, regulators, government authorities, and any other stakeholders who support the practical experience of professional accountants. The revision of IES 5 continues to support the use of practical experience in developing the competence of an aspiring professional accountant, but also proposes: • greater flexibility in measuring practical experience; • permitting supervisors or mentors to direct an aspiring professional accountant’s experience; and • requiring practical experience to be recorded in a verifiable and consistent form.

ISACA and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee have jointly developed a paper, Leveraging XBRL for Value in Organizations, to provide guidance on how to leverage the value of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) through effective implementation. XBRL is a universal language of business reporting that is increasingly being used for both external and internal reporting by organizations and is gaining traction worldwide. “Understanding how to embed XBRL within an organization’s information processes can enhance management communication, increasing the value of the information used within an enterprise,” said Roger Debreceny, Ph.D., FCPA, CGEIT, member of ISACA and co-developer of the XBRL paper. “ISACA collaborated with IFAC to develop this paper to provide accounting and assurance professionals with guidance they can rely on from trusted sources to leverage value from XBRL initiatives and compliance requirements.” “Many organizations have not yet realized how useful XBRL can be for them; professional accountants in business can assist them in navigating and making the most of XBRL,” said Roger Tabor, chair of IFAC’s PAIB Committee. “This paper can serve as a starting place to integrate XBRL and help organizations leverage its value.”

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) today released for public exposure a proposed revision of International Education Standard (IES) 1, Entry Requirements to a Program of Professional Accounting Education. The revised education standard is intended to protect the public interest by both establishing fair and proportionate entry requirements—which help those individuals considering professional accounting education make appropriate career decisions—and ensuring that requirements for entry to professional accounting education are not misrepresented. IES 1, originally approved in 2004, currently prescribes the principles to be used by professional accountancy organizations, including member bodies of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), when setting entry requirements for professional accounting education and practical experience.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has requested the government to adopt the global accounting standards IFRS in toto or at least allow companies to voluntarily do so and not go ahead with the convergence approach. Stating it is in India''s own interest to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS, as India''s problems will soon be the problems of the global community too, IASB Board member Prabhakar Kalavacherla said "we (IASB) strongly encourage adoption as against convergence." "If this is not possible," he said over the weekend here, "to begin with please give domestic companies the option of full IFRS adoption while keeping the carve-outs. Let the market decide what is correct. In five years, India can revisit the issue and see what should be done." "Secondly, India needs to get more actively involved in the global standard-setting process (on accounting)." The London-based IASB is the global accounting body that is spearheading implementation of the new financial reporting standards across the globe. The move for IFRS implementation got a leg-up after the financial meltdown when the G-20 Governments agreed to usher in a more robust and common language for financial reporting for better stability.

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.”

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.

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 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.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) today released for public comment proposed revised International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000, Assurance Engagements Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information. Proposed ISAE 3000 is a principles-based standard that can be applied effectively to a broad range of assurance engagements. Such engagements may range from assurance on statements about the effectiveness of internal control, for example, to direct engagements such as performance or “value for money” audits, to possible future engagements addressing integrated reporting or corporate social responsibility reporting. “Proposed ISAE 3000 includes requirements that enable consistent high-quality engagements, while being sufficiently flexible to apply to the broad range of relevant engagements,” noted Prof. Arnold Schilder, IAASB Chairman. “This is an important balance. ISAE 3000 is the overarching standard for current and future topic-specific ISAEs and assurance engagements where no separate ISAE exists.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) today released for public exposure a proposed revision of International Education Standard (IES) 6, Assessment of Professional Competence. The revised education standard will assist IFAC member bodies and other professional accountancy organizations in understanding both the learning and development requirements for areas of assessment of professional competence, and their obligations in upholding the standards. IES 6, originally drafted in 2004, currently prescribes the requirements for a final assessment of a candidate’s professional capabilities and competence before qualification. The revised standard addresses elements that are essential to assessing professional competence over the career of a professional accountant.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) published today its 2011 Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements. In two volumes, the Handbook contains all current IPSASB pronouncements, including 31 accrual-based standards and the IPSASB's cash basis standard. The 2011 Handbook incorporates the amendments made as a result of the IPSASB’s 2010 Improvements Project, as well as?at the beginning of each accrual-based standard?a history of the amendments made to that standard. “The 2011 Handbook provides a comprehensive set of accounting requirements and guidance developed specifically for preparers of public sector financial statements,” said IPSASB Chair Andreas Bergmann. “In addition, the Handbook has been updated to reflect the IPSASB’s Improvements Project, completed in November 2010.”

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) today released for public exposure a proposed revision of International Education Standard (IES) 4, Professional Values, Ethics, and Attitudes. The revised standard, part of the IAESB’s project to improve the clarity of its standards, proposes that the development of professional values, ethics, and attitudes be addressed by learning and development activities that occur throughout the career of the professional accountant. IES 4 will be helpful to educational organizations, employers, regulators, government authorities, and other stakeholders who support the learning and development of professional accountants.

International network of accounting firms Kreston International has been admitted as a full member of the Forum of Firms after confirming that it has met the Forum's membership standards. This includes reporting that it has implemented a globally coordinated quality assurance program, has policies and methodologies based on the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), and has met other specific requirements of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. As of January1, 2011, twenty-one other international networks of accounting firms are full members of the Forum of Firms and continue to report their adherence to the Forum's membership obligations.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) is pleased to announce the completion of four International Association for Accounting and Education Research (IAAER)/Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) research projects, which will inform its standard-setting agenda in the area of professional accountancy education. A summary of the research, Informing the International Accounting Education Standards Board: A Summary of IAAER/ACCA Research Projects, is now available on the IAESB website.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) today released its 2010 annual report. The report highlights the IAASB’s ongoing work to promote the adoption and implementation of its clarified International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), and the issuance of a number of proposals in areas where there is demand for new and innovative assurance and related services other than audits of financial statements.

Standards revision, guidance and implementation support, technology identified as areas of focus for accountancy education programs. International accountancy, education, and Professional Accountancy Organization (PAO) leaders from over 30 nations convened on Tuesday, March 8 at the United Nations in Geneva for the Accountancy Education Forum: Building Human Capacity and Professional Accounting Education for High-Quality Corporate Reporting. This event was jointly hosted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB).

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has significantly updated its Sustainability Framework (the Framework), a tool to support professional accountants and their organizations as they integrate sustainability into their strategy, operations, and reporting. The Framework highlights the important roles that professional accountants play in facilitating the sustainable development of their organizations, as well as the importance of adopting an integrated approach to business reporting.