IFAC News in Brief
 

IFAC Outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ian Ball has called on the Russian Presidency of the G-20 to advance adoption and implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs). Consistent with its past submissions to the G-20, IFAC calls for urgent research and action to address this critical, but neglected, component of the international financial system.

 

IFAC has joined The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Business Coalition. The Business Coalition is a global, multi-stakeholder platform for supporting the development of methods for natural and social capital valuation in business. The coalition’s activities focus on global stakeholder engagement, focused research, and development of methods for natural capital accounting. IFAC will be working with the coalition to provide a compelling economic case for the conservation of natural capital as the cornerstone of green economic policies.

 

IFAC has opened the nominations period for the 2013 IFAC International Gold Service Award. Established in 2010 and presented annually, the award recognizes outstanding contributions to the global accountancy profession, including protecting the public interest; exemplifying professional conduct and ethics; exceptional quality of work; and/or contributions to a particular accountancy project or initiative. Nominations from IFAC member bodies must be submitted to the IFAC chief executive officer by April 1, 2013; additional details and guidelines are available in the press release.

 

 

In February, the IAESB released the revised International Education Standard (IES) 1, Entry Requirements to Professional Accounting Education Programs.
 

IES 1, which takes effect July 1, 2014, is intended to protect the public interest by both establishing fair and proportionate entry requirements. These requirements help those individuals considering professional accounting education make appropriate career decisions and ensure that requirements for entry to professional accounting education are not misrepresented.
 

The IAESB has undertaken a project to redraft all eight of its IESs in accordance with the clarity drafting conventions outlined in its 2010-2013 Strategy and Work Plan. The current timetable envisages that all IESs will have been revised and redrafted, or redrafted only, by quarter 4 of 2013.

 

 

An erratum to the Call for Nominations for Boards and Committees in 2014 regarding nominations to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has been published as the original, published January 15, 2013, contained an error. The number of vacancies on the IPSASB for 2014 was incorrectly stated as four, with no vacancy for a public member. In fact, there will be five vacancies on the IPSASB in 2014, including at least one vacancy for a public member. Consequently, the deadline for submitting nominations for the IPSASB for 2014 has been extended to April 5, 2013.

 

Time is running out to complete the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) 2014-2016 Strategic Review Survey. The IESBA is preparing to develop a new strategy and work plan for the period 2014-2016 and is seeking the views of interested parties on key issues to address in the plan and their relative priorities. To contribute your views, take the survey by March 15, 2013. Individual responses to the survey will not be made public.

 

IFAC is hiring for a number of different positions, including a deputy director for the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and technical managers in multiple areas. While positions require a familiarity with the accounting profession and global financial issues, an accounting degree is not required for all positions. Visit Working at IFAC to learn more. Qualified candidates should send a resume and salary requirements to jobs@ifac.org.

 

• Danish—International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3402, Assurance Reports on Controls at a Service Organization (2009), International Standard on Review Engagements 2400, Engagements to Review Historical Financial Statements (2012)

• French—Guide to Using International Standards on Auditing in the Audits of Small- and Medium-Sized Entities (2012)

• Hungarian—Handbook of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (2010)

• Serbian—Handbook of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (2012)

• Spanish—Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices (2011)

• Turkish—Handbook of International Quality Control, Auditing Review, Other Assurance, and Related Services Pronouncements (2012), Handbook of the Code of Ethics For Professional Accountants (2012)

 

Recent and Upcoming Events
 

 

The next World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) will be hosted by the Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabili (CNDCEC) in Rome, Italy in 2014. Themed 2020 Vision: Learning from the Past, Building the Future, the 2014 WCOA will be held November 10-13 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica. More than 4,000 professionals from all over the world will convene at this IFAC event, which is held every four years. WCOA 2014 will look back to explore the evolution of the accountancy profession and forward to showcase the innovations that will shape the future of the profession.

 

The WCOA also provides a global platform for organizations and firms to share their projects and visions via various sponsorship opportunities. For more information, please contact info@wcoa2014rome.com or Dimarco@wcoa2014rome.com.

 

 

The 2013 IFAC Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Forum will be held in Kampala, Uganda, on June 5, 2013, and jointly hosted with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) and the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA). Each IFAC member organization may send up to ten delegates, who should be those responsible for SMP/small- and medium-sized entity (SME) affairs at their organization. Registration forms are being sent to IFAC member organizations. If you are an individual member of an IFAC member organization and wish to attend, please register your interest with your organization. More information will be posted at www.ifac.org/2013SMPForum as it becomes available.

 

Open Consultation and Exposure Drafts

 

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released for public comment proposed International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 720 (Revised), The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Other Information in Documents Containing or Accompanying Audited Financial Statements and the Auditor’s Report Thereon. The proposed standard clarifies and enhances the scope and focus of auditor efforts on “other information”—that is, information included in documents containing or accompanying the entity’s audited financial statements. The proposals recognize that significant changes in financial reporting have occurred over the last two decades regarding the information issued in connection with an entity’s financial statements and the manner in which it is shared with users. Comment Deadline: March 14, 2013
 

The IAASB has also released for public comment a new Consultation Paper addressing audit quality. A Framework for Audit Quality seeks input from stakeholders internationally who have an interest in continually enhancing audit quality, including regulators, audit committees, investors, and audit firms. Through the proposed framework, the IAASB aims to raise awareness of the key elements of audit quality, encourage stakeholders to explore ways to improve audit quality, and facilitate greater dialogue between key stakeholders on the topic. The IAASB invites all stakeholders to comment on the consultation paper. To access the document or submit a comment, visit the IAASB website. An At a Glance document is also available. Comment Deadline: May 15, 2013

 

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) recently released two Exposure Drafts (EDs)—Conceptual Framework ED 2, Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities: Elements and Recognition in Financial Statements and Conceptual Framework ED 3, Measurement of Assets and Liabilities in Financial Statements.
 

Both EDs are related to the IPSASB’s project to develop a Conceptual Framework for the general purpose financial reporting of public sector entities. ED 2 proposes definitions of eight elements—assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, deferred inflows, deferred outflows, ownership contributions—and ownership distributions and considers how to deal with the uncertainty that can arise over the existence and measurement of elements. ED 3 identifies the measurement concepts that should guide the IPSASB in the selection of measurement bases for International Public Sector Accounting Standards. It stresses the importance of selecting measurement bases that meet the objectives of financial reporting decision making and accountability. Comment Deadlines: April 30, 2013