Professional accountants in business (PAIB) play a vital role within various sectors such as commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and non-profit sectors. IFAC’s PAIB Advisory Group, established in 1977, is a global forum of finance and business leaders advising the global accountancy profession and its members on critical areas such as sustainability and digital transitions so that PAIBs are well prepared to meet the evolving needs of both business and the public sector in the future.
The newest PAIB Advisory Group members are:
Mike Driver, Past President, CIPFA & Independent Non-Executive Director (United Kingdom)
Ruth Gardiner Forbes,President and CEO, Fortis TCI Ltd (Turks and Caicos Islands)
Lisa Kelley,Managing Director, Floating Interest Corporation (United States of America)
With these additions, the PAIB Advisory Group has achieved gender parity. Sanjay Rughani remains Chair and Sharon Ditchburn has been appointed Deputy Chair.
"Every member brings a distinctive and valuable viewpoint on the contributions of professional accountants in business and finance leadership,” said Sanjay Rughani, Chair, IFAC PAIB Advisory Group. “We are privileged to welcome these new members who will share their diverse experiences and offer strategic insights on the profession, expanding its contribution to sustainable economic development worldwide and serve as global champions for the profession.”
The continuing PAIB Advisory Group members are:
Sanjay Rughani, Chair, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Uganda (Uganda)
Zia-Ul-Mustafa Awan, CFO and Business Administrator, Pakistan Expo Centres Private Limited (Pakistan)
Anastasija Boljević, Secretary General, Institute of Certified Accountants of Montenegro (Republic of Montenegro)
Esther Bosch, Director Risk & Audit, Royal Schiphol Group (Netherlands)
Ibrahim (Murat) Çağlar, Chief Financial Officer,Sanovel (Türkiye)
Eric Freudenreich, Independent Non-Executive Director (France)
Lindawati Gani, Professor in Management Accounting, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia (Indonesia)
Tim Herrod, Vice President, Global Procurement, Albemarle Corporation (Canada)
Margaret Muinde, Financial Controller, Kenya Roads Board (Kenya)
Maria del Dado Alonso Sanchez, Group CFO, Berlin Brands Group (Spain)
Milton Segal, Executive Director: Standards, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (South Africa)
Muhammad Samiullah Siddiqui, CFO, Oxford University Press Pakistan (Pakistan)
Nancy Sau Ling Tse, JP, Independent Non-Executive Director [Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China)]
Ichiro Waki, Group CEO, JBA Group (Japan)
Gloria Zvaravanhu, Managing Director, Old Mutual Insurance Company (Zimbabwe)
Member expertise is drawn upon to deliver timely reports, articles, and case studies relevant to professional accountants in business across the globe. Explore their latest insights.
About IFAC
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 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
About the Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group
Professional accountants in business comprise a significant part of the profession working in commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and not-for-profit sectors. The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Advisory Group focuses on ensuring these accountants meet the future needs of business and the public sector.
Recent years have seen a significant shift in demand for relevant sustainability-related disclosure, reporting, and assurance and the accountancy profession is working to prepare current and future professionals to meet these stakeholder demands. The literature review identifies the new and existing competencies required of professional accountants to provide these services; educational strategies to develop them; and the challenges the accountancy education community will face. The literature review also informed IFAC’s decision to make sustainability-related revisions to the International Education Standards and will contribute to the forthcoming proposed revisions, expected in Q2 2024.
In addition to the literature review, IFAC will host a joint webinar with the International Association for Accounting Education & Research (IAAER) on February 7, 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM EST, featuring a discussion with the review’s lead author. Register for the webinar here.
About IFAC 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 180 members and associates in more than 135 jurisdictions, representing millions of professional accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
IFAC’s Strategic Plan is a global roadmap designed to help guide the work of the accountancy profession. It reflects the priorities of our 180 member organizations, which collectively serve the public interest by ensuring that society has access to a robust, ethical and future ready workforce of professional accountants.
Join IFAC and the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER) for a webinar on IFAC’s recently published literature review of competencies, educational strategies, and challenges for sustainability reporting and assurance. We will be joined by Erica Neuman, author of the literature review, who will share its key findings.
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today announced plans to revise the International Education Standards (IES) to bring greater focus to sustainability reporting and assurance competence and recognize the evolving role of professional accountants in this important area. IFAC anticipates launching a public consultation on proposed revisions to the standards in Q2 2024, marking a significant milestone for the global accountancy profession’s journey to advance sustainability disclosure standards that respond to the needs of investors and other stakeholders.
Extensive stakeholder outreach and research made it clear that while professional accountants’ skills and training are transferable to sustainability reporting and assurance, there’s a need for a focus on sustainability in the IES. The planned revisions will address this, including revised and new learning outcomes needed for professional development programs to best prepare future and current professional accountants for the increasing demands for sustainability reporting and assurance.
As IFAC commits to revising the IESs, in partnership with the IFAC International Panel on Accountancy Education, it encourages professional accountants to seize the opportunity to enhance their sustainability knowledge and expertise. IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey said, “As sustainability reporting and assurance become mainstream, professional accountants have a unique opportunity to lead and bring value. Professional accountants should begin their journey now to develop or enhance sustainability reporting and assurance abilities. It is imperative that we all commit to personal professional development, ensuring that we are ready to meet the moment with the competence and due care that define our profession.”
Professional accountancy organizations have crucial roles to play helping their members as they transition to increasing market demand for sustainability reporting and assurance. Collective action is needed at the global, regional and local levels to accelerate the pace at which existing knowledge is expanded upon. IFAC encourages its member organizations to enhance current learning requirements with respect to sustainability and to recognize those courses offered by others—including the IFRS Foundation's anticipated eLearning course, which may prove useful to PAOs to offer their members as it is designed to respond to market demand to begin implementing the inaugural IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, IFRS S1 and S2.
About IFAC 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 180 members and associates in more than 135 jurisdictions, representing millions of professional accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.
About the International Education Standards The International Education Standards (IESs), issued by the International Federation of Accountants, set forth the principles that professional accountancy organizations should follow to build a national accountancy profession that is fully capable of fulfilling the complex demands economies and societies place on it. The IESs are authoritative and are used by IFAC member organizations when setting education requirements for professional accountants and aspiring professional accountants.
