IFAC has updated its Practice Management Guide to reflect changes made to the 2018 International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards), effective June 2019. The update includes:

• Changes to section 7.2 ‘Professionalism and Ethics within the Firm';
• Information on identifying, evaluating and addressing threats; and
• Available safeguards to reduce threats to an acceptable level.  

The Guide provides comprehensive guidance to help small- and medium-sized practices operate more efficiently in the increasingly complex and competitive global marketplace for professional services. The fourth edition is organized into eight stand-alone modules, with a comprehensive range of topics including:

• Strategic planning
• Practice models
• Firm expansion
• Managing staff
• Leveraging technology
• Client relationship management
• Risk management
• Succession planning

In order to help member organizations and practices maximize the Guide's use, IFAC provides a companion manual with suggestions on making best use of the Guide. 

Click here to access the updated Practice Management Guide and Companion Manual on the IFAC website.

Jean Bouquot became IFAC President in November 2024. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Bouquot joined the IFAC Board in November 2020, nominated by Compagnie Nationale des Commissaires aux Comptes (CNCC) and Conseil Supérieur de l'Ordre des Experts-Comptables (now Conseil National de l'Ordre des Experts-Comptables). He also served as IFAC Deputy President from November 2022 to November 2024.

Mr. Bouquot was the president of CNCC from February 2017 to October 2020. From December 2012 to December 2014, he was vice-chairman of the Compagnie Régionale des Commissaires aux Comptes de Versailles (regional statutory auditors professional body) and member of the CNCC. From 2014 until 2016, he was chairman of the Compagnie Régionale des Commissaires aux Comptes de Versailles and in February 2015, he was appointed Board Member of the CNCC.

Partner at EY until October 2020, Mr. Bouquot was an audit partner since 1992 and has 40 years of experience, at Arthur Andersen from 1980 to 2002 and then EY. He was also in charge of assurance service line for France/Luxembourg/Maghreb from 2008 to 2015.

Mr. Bouquot attended HEC business school and Institut d'Etudes Politiques of Paris. He is an expert-comptable and commissaire aux comptes. He also served as a reserve colonel in the French Air Force from 2008 to 2020, including attending the Auditor 59 session at the Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale.

Fiona Wilkinson was elected to the IFAC Board in November 2019, nominated by the UK Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies. She is also the Chair of IFAC's Public Policy and Regulation Advisory Group (PPRAG).

Mrs. Wilkinson was the President and Chair of the Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) for 2019-20, having formerly held the roles of deputy and vice president. She trained with Deloitte in London, qualified as a member of the ICAEW and worked for the firm for 11 years before setting up her own practice as a technical consultant on auditing, financial reporting and practice assurance to firms of chartered accountants. Whilst with Deloitte, she made use of her skills in French and Italian by working on assignments in cities such as Montreal, Luxembourg, Milan, Geneva and Brussels.

Mrs. Wilkinson was elected to the ICAEW's Council in 2003 and has served on its board, as chair of the ICAEW's Professional Standards Board, its Ethics Advisory Committee and its Diversity Advisory Group, and as a member of the Practice Committee and the Money-Laundering sub-committee. She is also a former President of ICAEW's South West District Society. She is currently the Chair of the Audit Committee and member of the Board of Trustees of a college based in London. 

Mrs. Wilkinson is an FCA and has a BA Honours degree in French with Italian from the University of London.

Ismaila Zakari joined the IFAC Board in November 2019, having been nominated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). He previously served as a technical advisor on the IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee.

Mr. Zakari is currently the Managing Partner of Ahmed Zakari & Co. (Chartered Accountants), a small- and medium-sized firmed he co-founded in 1998. He is responsible for leading a resourceful team of Gen-Y professional accountants, specializing in helping mainly small- and medium-sized enterprises and public sector clients to achieve their business goals by providing high-quality accounting, audit & assurance, tax, insolvency, Islamic finance and consulting service engagements.

Mr. Zakari was president of ICAN from 2017 to 2018. He served on the ICAN Council for 15 years. In this role he worked on numerous ICAN committees and task forces, including Students Development, Membership, Continuing Professional Education, Professional Examinations, Practice Monitoring, Ethics Investigation & Disciplinary Tribunal.

Mr. Zakari also served as a board member and technical advisor with the Pan African Federation of Accountants and Council member and Honorary Treasurer for the Association of Accountancy Bodies in West Africa.

Mr. Zakari holds a Bachelor's degree (with honors) in accounting and began his career with Sulaimon & Co., a member firm of Nexia International, in 1987. Mr. Zakari was recently appointed by Nigeria's Minister of Finance to serve on the country's Tax Advisory Committee.

Dr. Winnie Nyamute was appointed to the IFAC board in November 2019. She was nominated by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).

Dr. Nyamute is a full-time Senior Lecturer and Consultant in the Department of Finance and Accounting at the University of Nairobi. She is the Patron of the Accounting Students Association and also the Faculty Advisor for the Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) Global Research Challenge.

Dr. Nyamute has served on the boards of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Sameer Africa PLC, Board of Trustees of NSE Clear and of KCA University. She has chaired the audit, risk management and governance committees of both NSE and Sameer. She was the convener of the Special Interest Group of ICPAK. Other committees served include: Disciplinary, Listing and Admissions, Nominations and Remuneration, Derivatives Risk Management, Self Listing and the Audit Quality Assurance.

Dr. Nyamute holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Finance), an MBA in Finance, and a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Yeong Kyun Ahn joined the IFAC Board in November 2019. He was nominated by the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA). He previously served as a technical advisor for In-Ki Joo for five years, prior to Mr. Joo being elevated to IFAC President.

Mr. Ahn is the past Vice President of KICPA. He had collective responsibilities for establishment and implementation of auditing, ethical, and educational standards along with the design, development technical review and operation of initial professional development and continuing professional development. His responsibility encompassed research on auditing and assurance and leading KICPA's international relations initiatives.

Additionally, Mr. Ahn has three decades of practice experience as an assurance partner at Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers.  during his career, he led PwC's efforts to set objectives and priorities for the multi-level continuous professional training, having been engaged in design, development, technical review and instruction of audit training programs.

Ms. Ahn was a member of the Korean Accounting Standards Board during the period of 2012-2015 and was a member of the International Accounting Education Standards Board in from 2015 to 2019.

Mr. Ahn holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration, Financial Accounting, and Auditing from Kookmin University (Korea) and master's and bachelor's degrees in business administration from Seoul National University (Korea). He first qualified as a CPA in 1983.

Caroline Gardner CBE joined the IFAC Nominating Committee in 2023, nominated by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). She is a member of the IFAC board and a fellow of CIPFA, serving as president during 2006-2007, and was a public interest member of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) between 2010 and 2015.

Ms. Gardner has considerable experience in governance, audit, and financial management in executive and non-executive roles. She was the Auditor General for Scotland from 2012 to 2020, responsible for auditing the Scottish Government and public bodies in Scotland and reporting to the Scottish Parliament. She now has a portfolio of non-executive appointments, including chair of the Audit Oversight Body of PwC UK and a member of the board of the Wheatley Group, where she is chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Joan Curry FCA joined the IFAC Board in November 2019 having been nominated by Chartered Accountants Ireland.

Ms. Curry is an elected Council member of Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI), the membership body representing 27,500 Irish Chartered Accountants in Ireland and around the world. Ms. Curry became a Chartered Accountant in 1988 with Smyth Lawlor & Co, now JPA Brenson Lawlor. Ms. Curry joined the Department of Finance in 2002 and has extensive experience of public financial management in the Irish civil and public sector including the development and implementation of public financial procedures for the Central Government sector.

Ms. Curry has been an active member of CAI since 2002 serving on a number of committees concerning public sector matters and ethics and governance. She currently chairs the public sector members committee and is a member of the Council Boards for Strategy and Members.

Ms. Curry is currently Head of Finance in the Department of Transport.

While the SMP Committee is supportive of the Ethics Board’s exploration of concepts other than professional skepticism to capture the behavior expected of all professional accountants (PAs), it is not convinced it is necessary to add the currently proposed standalone requirement outside the fundamental principles. The SMP Committee is also concerned about the proposed changes on upholding ethical values, which appears to go beyond the Code.

Ethical behavior in relation to tax advice is crucial. The work carried out by a professional accountancy organization (PAO) member needs to be trusted by society at large as well as by clients and other stakeholders. PAOs' and their members' conduct in this regard reflects not just on themselves but also on the accountancy profession. PAOs have a responsibility to ensure that their members who provide tax advice uphold the profession's reputation.