News from Member Bodies, Affiliates and Regional Accountancy Organisations
1. CECCAR Holds SMP, Governance Conferences
2. AIC Holds Summit of the Americas
The Asociación Interamericana de Contabilidad (Interamerican Accounting Association, or AIC) recently held the Cumbre de Las Américas (Summit of the Americas), hosted by the Instituto de Contadores Públicos Autorizados de la República Dominicana, to discuss advances in the accounting profession, the global perspective, and developments in the Americas, among other topics. Manual Sanchez y Madrid, chair of the IFAC Compliance Advisory Panel, attended the meeting to share recent IFAC developments.
3. Internal Audit Quality Conference Held by Czech Republic Chamber of Auditors
The Chamber of Auditors of the Czech Republic recently held its national conference,
The Quality of the Internal Audit, to facilitate sharing of best practices and experiences. The conference focused on how to control the quality of the internal audit, how process management and the quality of the internal audit add stakeholder value, and current trends.
4. Practicing Accountants in Uganda Top 2,900
The vice president of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda, Patrick Ben Kagoro, recently announced that the number of practicing accountants in Uganda has reached almost 3,000—a significant feat for an organization established in 1995. Mr. Kagoro, who is also the chairman of the Public Accountants Examination Board, made the announcement while welcoming more than 100 new graduates from CPA and accounting technician courses. Mr. Kagoro also announced plans to establish regional centers for examinations and offer testing in two new regions.
5. New Foundation Launched by ICAS
A new foundation to help students pursue accountancy and financial studies has been established by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). The ICAS Foundation will offer 40 grants of up to £10,000 annually for students to “remove the barriers to entering financial education, the wider profession, and related disciplines for disadvantaged young people identified by our members as being in need of money, mentoring, and momentum.”
6. LIA Discloses New QA Plans
The Lesotho Institute of Accountants (LIA) has unveiled quality assurance (QA) and review mechanism plans to monitor the performance of practicing accountants in Lesotho, with the continuing goal of providing an accountancy qualification that is locally and internationally recognized and accepted and increases public confidence in the accountancy profession. The mechanisms will “effectively manage the discharge of [LIA’s] mandate of regulation and efficiency of services,” according to outgoing LIA President Lerata Pekane. LIA was able to establish a QA system through a grant from the World Bank to develop the qualification framework. LIA’s disciplinary committee has already created rules and regulations to allow for disciplinary and legal actions against non-members who are “masquerading” as accountants.
7. MIA Begins Governance Structure Review
In a move designed to address stakeholder concerns and recommendations outlined in the World Bank’s Report on Observance of Standards and Codes for Accounting and Auditing in Malaysia, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) has begun efforts to review its governance structure. The Ministry of Finance will conduct an independent review of the MIA’s current structure.
8. Two New Audit Quality Reports Out from CICA
9. Recent Member Body Appointments and Elections
• Mr. Barry Cooper, President, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
• Mr. Ahmad Saeed, President, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
• Mr. Maeem Akthar Sheikh, Vice President, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
• Mr. Yacoob Suttar, Vice President, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
• Mr. Lee Fook Chiew, Chief Executive, Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore
10. Joint Initiatives Launched Among Professional Accountancy Organizations
• A new report from CGMA, a joint initiative of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chartered Institute for Management Accounting, addresses human capital performance and the views of senior executives, which frequently differ, leaving human capital management wanting. Talent Pipeline Draining Growth: Connecting Human Capital to the Growth Agenda shows that while most companies understand the importance of the issue, they do not have the right systems, processes, and information in place to manage talent effectively.
• The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) will be collaborating to offer Cypriot accountants increased access to ICAEW’s online resources on technical developments and thought leadership.
News from Government, Regulatory Bodies, and Other International Organisations
1. IIRC Holds Conference on Pilot Programme
2. Improvements Needed on Vietnamese Accounting, Auditing Standards
During a conference in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam, the director of the Accounting and Policy Department of the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance, Dang Thai Hung, said accounting standards in Vietnam do not match developments in Vietnam’s economy and stock market. Mr. Dang Thai said that improved accounting, auditing, and governance standards would help address these deficiencies. In Vietnam, some companies currently use International Financial Reporting Standards while others use Vietnamese standards. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance regulates internal auditing but these regulations only cover state-owned enterprises and are not applied to businesses in all economic sectors.
3. Zimbabwe to Adopt IPSASs
The government of Zimbabwe has announced plans to adopt International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) following a recent workshop held by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Public Accountants and Auditors Board. The workshop gave finance directors and senior officers in all government ministries the opportunity to become more familiar with IPSASs and their requirements. Some attendees warned the Ministry of Finance that resistance from key stakeholders, especially politicians, is likely given the requirements for full disclosure of information that was previously confidential.
4. Internal Control Framework Compendium Released by COSO
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) has released the Exposure Draft,
Internal Control Over External Financial Reporting: Compendium of Approaches and Examples, as part of the update project for its Internal Control Framework. The Compendium will help users of the Framework apply it to external financial reporting objectives, including compliance with the US Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act. The Exposure Draft, press release, a PowerPoint presentation, and an FAQ are available on the COSO website. The comment period closes November 20, 2012.
5. IIA Releases Updated Standards for Internal Auditors
The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) has issued updated standards for internal auditors. The updated version of International Standards for Professional Practice of Internal Audit includes nearly 20 changes, including clarified responsibilities for internal auditors and the chief audit executive and an increase in the auditor’s focus on quality assurance and improvement program requirements. Webcasts explaining the changes will be hosted by the IIA on October 23 and 24—registration is required at least 24 hours in advance.
6. New Standards on Auditing, Certification Released by ISO
Two new standards have been released by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO):
• ISO/IEC TS 17021-2:2012, Conformity Assessment—Requirements for Bodies Providing Audit and Certification of Management Systems—Part 2: Competence Requirements for Auditing and Certification of Environmental Management Systems and
• ISO/IEC 17065:2012, Conformity Assessment—Requirements for Bodies Certifying Products, Processes, and Services.
The new standards are designed to increase confidence in audits and certification and were developed with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
7. New US Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Established
A new sustainability accounting standards board has been established in the US—the
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), which will help develop and disseminate industry-specific sustainability accounting standards. The SASB is a non-profit group, supported by Bloomberg LP, Generation Foundation, Metanoia Fund, and the Rockefeller Foundation, with the goal of standardizing corporate reporting on the social and environmental performance of publicly traded companies. According to the SASB website, the organization “addresses the unique needs of the US market, establishing standards for integrated reporting that are concise, comparable within an industry, and relevant to all 35,000 publicly listed companies in the US.”
8. IOSCO: Disclosure Requirements for Islamic Capital Markets in Need of Enhancement
Following a high-level roundtable in Malaysia with the Islamic Financial Services Board and the Securities Commission Malaysia, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued a
statement on the need for enhanced disclosure requirements in Islamic capital markets. “The growing recognition of the increasing significance of the Islamic capital market, especially in view of rising cross-border transactions, has triggered the need for stronger oversight, greater transparency, and more robust disclosure requirements.”
Recent Developments Related to the Financial Crisis and the Economic Recovery
1. IMF: Economic Recovery Weakening
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its estimates for global growth in 2013—from 3.9% to 3.6%—and issued a warning that the global economic recovery is weakening. According to the IMF, government policies have failed to restore confidence in the global economy.
2. IASB Head Warns Against Reductions in Bank Lending
During a speech at a Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (FEE) conference, Hans Hoogervorst, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), issued a warning against reductions in bank lending around the world. Mr. Hoogervorst said that conservative attitudes, similar to prevalent attitudes in the US, could have “serious, unintended consequences.” The FEE conference, Corporate Reporting of the Future, discussed current issues and key challenges in corporate reporting, including development of a framework that is “fit for purpose.” It also considered the interaction between financial reporting and other forms of reporting, including integrated reporting.