At its Council and Board meetings in Mexico City last week, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) announced new resources to support professional accountants working in small and medium practices (SMPs) and approved a policy paper outlining its position on professional regulation. IFAC also approved three new associates and a new affiliate and announced the appointment of five new members to its Board.

To mark the 30th anniversary of IFAC’s founding, a special anniversary seminar was held during the Council meeting on the topic of The Financial Reporting Environment in the 21st Century. More than 200 individuals from IFAC member bodies and the Mexican accountancy profession attended the seminar, which addressed such topics as business reporting models of the future, the state of public sector financial reporting, and effective regulation. Speeches and presentations made at the seminar will be available on the IFAC website (http://www.ifac.org) in the coming weeks.

New Guide to Applying International Standards to SME Audits
At the Council meeting, IFAC SMP Committee Chair Sylvie Voghel reported that the committee had completed its review of new guidance to assist SMPs and other practitioners in delivering high quality audits of small and medium entities (SMEs). The new implementation guidance, Guide to Using ISAs in the Audit of Small- and Medium-sized Entities, is in the production stages and will be available in early December. The guide, developed by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants on IFAC’s behalf, is designed to support SMPs and other practitioners in applying International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) to audits of SMEs.

Establishing Accountancy Bodies
During the meeting, IFAC also released a 2007 edition of its good practice guidance on establishing and developing professional accountancy organizations. This updated and expanded toolkit, entitled Establishing and Developing a Professional Accountancy Body, addresses the roles and responsibilities of a professional accountancy body, education and examination, and capacity development. It also includes new guidance on enhancing the public sector focus of the profession. French, Russian and Spanish translations of the guidance are also available from the bookstore. The toolkit is available in downloadable format and on CD-ROM from the IFAC online bookstore (http://www.ifac.org/store).

Professional Regulation
The Board approved an IFAC position on professional regulation. The paper formalizes its view that professional accountancy bodies and governments share a common objective of ensuring that professional accountants serve the public interest and meet high standards in the quality of the services they provide and that both professional accountancy organizations and governments need to work together to ensure an effective and efficient regulatory mix. The paper will be posted to the IFAC website in the next few weeks.

New IFAC Associates and Affiliate
The Council accepted three new organizations as associates of IFAC:

• Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants;
• Mauritius Institute of Professional Accountants; and
• Ordre National des Experts Comptables et Comptables Agréés du Sénégal.

In addition, the Council accepted the Nederlandse Orde van Register EDP-Auditors as an affiliate.

New IFAC Board Members Appointed
The IFAC Council also approved the nomination of five new members to the IFAC Board to serve three-year terms. They are Luiz Carlos Vaini of Brazil, Abdeljelil Bouraoui of Tunisia, Japheth Katto of Uganda, Robert Hodgkinson of the United Kingdom, and Olivia Kirtley of the United States. In addition, the IFAC Council approved the reappointment of two IFAC Board members for a second term: Roberto D’Imperio of Italy and Göran Tidström of the Nordic Federation. A complete list of the members of the November 2007 to November 2008 IFAC Board is available as an appendix to this release.

About IFAC
Founded in 1977, IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 158 members and associates in 123 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC sets international ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting standards. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

IFAC Board (November 2007 – November 2008)
Fermín del Valle, President
Robert Bunting, Deputy President
United States
Joycelyn Morton, Australia
Luiz Carlos Vaini, Brazil
Kevin Dancey, Canada
Sylvie Voghel, Canada
Yugui Chen, China
William Nahum, France
Norbert Pfitzer, Germany
Kamlesh Vikamsey, India
Bernadette McGrory-Farrell, Ireland
Roberto D’Imperio, Italy
Gen Ikegami, Japan
Roberto Resa, Mexico
Ingrid Doerga, Netherlands
Warren Allen, New Zealand
Göran Tidström, Nordic Federation
Abdeljelil Bouraoui, Tunisia
Japheth Katto, Uganda
Robert Hodgkinson, United Kingdom
David Leonard, United Kingdom
Olivia Kirtley, United States

Good morning. It's wonderful to be in Bratislava. I would like to congratulate you on the 15th Anniversary of the Slovak Chamber of Auditors, and I bring warm greetings and affection from the entire IFAC family that joins you today in this celebration.

I thank you very much for this invitation, which has allowed me, among many other things, to visit for the first time, the country where my mother was born. I must confess that I regret that it took me so long to get here, and therefore, appreciate this invitation very much.

I can honestly tell you that I feel a strong connection with this country, and I am sure that the bond will become stronger in the days to come.

For 30 years, IFAC's mission has been to work in the public interest to strengthen the worldwide accountancy profession by establishing and promoting adherence to high quality professional standards, furthering the convergence of those standards, and speaking as the voice of the profession on relevant public policy issues.

Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me to join the 75th anniversary celebration of the Chamber of Hungarian Auditors (CHA).  Congratulations on this wonderful occasion.
 
It is significant that we are marking this 75th anniversary on October 24th; one day after the Hungarian National holiday that celebrates the freedom fighters of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The accounting professional organization, established in 1932, has faced the challenges of operating during wartime, pushing ahead in the face of hostile political regimes and staying the course in times of great economic upheaval. Facing adversity, surviving, and thriving are testimony to the spirit of the people in this room, as well as the rest of the Hungarian people.

But Hungarians are known for more than just an enduring spirit.  Hungarians are known for a tradition of innovation.  Famous Hungarian inventors and their inventions include: John von Neumann and digital computing; Laszlo Biro and the ball point pen; and Erno Rubik and his Rubik’s cube. Such inventions require vision and a belief that the world needs what you have got to offer, which brings us to our topic this afternoon.

A new publication released by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) addresses a wide range of topics that can assist professional accountants in business with their management, strategic and financial decision making. The publication, 2007 Articles of Merit, includes 10 previously published international articles that were selected by IFAC's Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee as part of its annual Articles of Merit Award Program for Distinguished Contribution to the roles and domain of professional accountants in business.A new publication released by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) addresses a wide range of topics that can assist professional accountants in business with their management, strategic and financial decision making. The publication, 2007 Articles of Merit, includes 10 previously published international articles that were selected by IFAC's Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee as part of its annual Articles of Merit Award Program for Distinguished Contribution to the roles and domain of professional accountants in business.

The winning article for 2007 is "Finding the Right Mix: How to Match Strategy and Management Practices to Enhance Firm Performance" by Kip R. Krumwiede and Shannon L. Charles. It was first published in the Institute of Management Accountants' monthly magazine, Strategic Finance. The authors' investigation into the use and adoption of popular management practices finds that highly rated practices such as target costing, the balanced scorecard, and activity-based costing have had relatively low adoption. However, their research identified that those organizations that did adopt these practices found that they produce valuable results. Using this research as a basis, the article suggests a five-step process to facilitate the matching of management practices to organizational strategy.

Other articles of outstanding merit cover topics such as key performance indicators, the art of management accounting, evaluating the return on information technology investments, XBRL, environmental management accounting, and board processes.

The 2007 Articles of Merit, together with past issues, can be downloaded from the IFAC online bookstore (www.ifac.org/store). The 10 articles in the 2007 publication can also be downloaded individually from the IFAC bookstore.

Founded in 1977, IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 155 members and associates in 118 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. The organization, through its independent standard-setting boards, sets international ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting standards. Through its Professional Accountants in Business Committee, IFAC issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

Good morning. I'm delighted to be here. Thank you, Eric, for inviting me to join you at the firm's international symposium. It is particularly gratifying to me to meet with you in my country. I hope you have a wonderful stay in Buenos Aires.

You have asked me to talk about IFAC's mission and how it affects global audit networks. I will gladly do that and then take your questions.

IFAC has a history of collaboration with the international networks firms such as PKF.

I want to thank PKF partners and associates for their support of IFAC's work. I would also like to personally extend a word of thanks to Theo Vermaak, PKF's representative on IFAC's Transnational Auditors Committee (TAC), for bringing his valuable practical experience to that committee. The TAC is an IFAC committee, but at the same time is the executive arm of the Forum of Firms.

As you probably know, PKF together with 22 other accounting networks involved in multinational audits, participate in IFAC chiefly through the Forum of Firms. The Forum was established six years ago to address criticisms and concerns expressed by international stakeholders with regard to the use of international standards and consistent audit performance among international auditing network firms.

Upon joining the Forum, the networks made a major commitment to IFAC standards and other quality measures.

Thank-you Mr. Chairman. Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
 
Before I start I would just like to say what a privilege and a pleasure it is for me to be able to participate on this panel. I wish to share with you today the significant points that IFAC is likely to make in the comment letter to the IASB. I will also outline some of the key findings from a micro-entity financial reporting research project. And finally I will spend a few minutes on assurance services for SMEs.
 
Let me frame my comments with some observations. In the recent past, issues impacting small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs) and small-and medium-sized practices (SMPs) have rose to the top of the agenda - of the regulators, professional accountancy bodies, standard setters, and IFAC. The IASB’s project to develop an SME accounting standard is testimony to this. It seems the main spur for this emphasis on SME/SMP is concern over regulatory overload, overload that is stifling the ability of small business to innovate, grow and compete. This regulation, including standards of accounting, auditing, and ethics, was often tailored to suit large business. It’s no surprise it is ill fitting for small business. The standards sometimes lack relevance to SME/SMP. And SME/SMP often lack the capacity to efficiently implement and comply with them.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm honored to be here in Osaka speaking to you on the 50th anniversary of the CAPA conference. Much has happened at CAPA since the meeting of the First Far East Conference of Accountants half a century ago in the Philippines, attended by your twelve founding members. Today, CAPA is a large and very important regional accountancy organization, and its geographical area encompasses half the globe. As many of you know, IFAC is celebrating an anniversary this year too: our 30th. The progress that IFAC and the accountancy profession have been able to achieve was made possible through the cooperation of members and regional accountancy organizations such as CAPA.

Good morning ladies and gentleman. It is a pleasure to be here in Osaka, this beautiful city that was once the imperial capital of Japan. I would like to thank his Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito for welcoming us all to his country.

Osaka is a very fitting place to host the 17th conference of the Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants. In ancient times, this city served as the gateway to Japan for foreign visitors and envoys from across Asia. Today, Osaka once again welcomes visitors from across the Asia-Pacific region with open arms.

CAPA continues to play an integral role in the development of the accountancy profession in this region, which is in the midst of one of the greatest economic expansions in human history. Now more than ever, professional accountants in this region are essential to the long-term sustainability of this growth through their work within business and industry, in public practice, and in government service. As the organization for the profession in this region, CAPA must continue to support high quality work by all members of the profession, as it has done for so long.

Thank-you Mr. Chairman and good morning ladies and gentlemen.
 
Before I start I would just like to say what a privilege and a pleasure it is for me to be able to participate on this panel. I wish to share with you today some of the significant points that IFAC is likely to make in its comment letter to the IASB. While the letter is still a draft many points have already crystallized during the process of its development. And I will outline some of the key findings from a micro-entity financial reporting research project.

Let me frame my comments with some observations. In the recent past, issues impacting small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs) and small-and medium-sized practices (SMPs) have rose to the top of the agenda - of the regulators, professional accountancy bodies, standard setters, and IFAC. The EU simplification initiative is testimony to this - as is the IASB's project to develop an SME accounting standard. It seems the main spur for this emphasis on SME/SMP is concern over regulatory overload, overload that is stifling the ability of small business to innovate, grow and compete. This regulation, including standards of accounting, auditing, and ethics, was often tailored to suit large business. It's no surprise it is ill fitting for small business. The standards sometimes lack relevance to SME/SMP. And SME/SMP often lack the capacity to efficiently implement and comply with them.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is requesting proposals for the development of a practice management guide for use by small and medium accounting practices (SMPs). The purpose of the guide will be to assist SMPs in managing their practices in an efficient, profitable and professional manner. It is intended that the guide will cover a range of topics, such as strategic planning, management structure, client relationships, managing finances and risk, partnership issues, networking, and succession planning.

“The development of this practice management guide is part of the SMP Committee’s plan to provide a series of explanatory guides aimed at helping SMPs to comply efficiently with international standards and to deliver high quality, cost-effective services,” states Sylvie Voghel, Chair of the IFAC SMP Committee. The guide will be made available to all IFAC member bodies at no charge for end use by practitioners, in particular, those managing the practice.

The specifications for the Request for Proposal: Development of a Practice Management Guide for Use by Small and Medium Practices are available on the IFAC website at http://web.ifac.org/download/Practice_Management_Guide_RFP.pdf. The deadline for submitting proposals is 12:00 pm (EDT), Friday, October 19, 2007. Submissions can be emailed to Paul Thompson, Senior Technical Manager of the SMP Committee, at paulthompson@ifac.org.

Founded in 1977, IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 155 members and associates in 118 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. The organization, through its independent standard-setting boards, sets international ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting standards. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business and those working in small and medium practices.