IFAC 2013 Ordinary Council Meeting Minutes
The Council unanimously approved the minutes of the 2012 Ordinary Meeting of the Council, as
amended.
3. Reports from IFAC Leadership and Management
3.1 Report from the President
In addition to his written report, Mr. Allen provided opening remarks to Council to set the scene for the
Council meeting. Mr. Allen provided a why, how and what analysis for Council.
Mr. Allen first discussed why we have IFAC. He noted that we are a truly global profession ideally placed
to assist the economy in recovering from the global financial crisis, and that during his travels this year he
was impressed with the significant achievements of many professional accountancy organizations around
the world.
Mr. Allen then reported on how IFAC is doing. He supplemented his and management’s written reports to
Council by providing a high-level overview of some of the many achievements during 2013 under each of
the four operating lines, including:
•
Supporting Standards Development. With IFAC’s support, the four independent standard setting
boards made significant contributions during the year, including the International Auditing and
Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB’s) issuance of the exposure drafts, Reporting on Audited
Financial Statements: Proposed New and Revised International Standards on Auditing; the
International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ (IESBA’s) work on responding to non-
compliance with laws or regulations; the International Accounting Education Standards Board’s
(IAESB’s) issuance of revised International Education Standard (IES) 1, Entry Requirements
to Professional Accounting Education Programs and IES 5, Initial Professional Development
—Practical Experience; and International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board’s
(IPSASB’s) issuance of the first four chapters of the Conceptual Framework for General
Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities, which underpins the development of
International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) and other documents that provide
guidance on general purpose financial reports.
I
n addition, resolving the issue of the need for public interest oversight of the IPSASB was a
critical area of focus in 2013.
• Quality and Capacity. In 2013, the Compliance Advisory Panel (CAP) continued its important
work to ensure an active and robust accounting profession. The partnership with the donor
community was strengthened by the Professional Accountancy Organization (PAO) Development
Committee through the Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Accountancy and Improve
Collaboration (MOSAIC) and other initiatives.
• Supporting the Profession. Integrated reporting has emerged as a major initiative to promot
e
t
ransparency and accountability and enhance investor/stakeholder confidence and IFAC has
made advancing it a top priority. In addition, the Small and Medium Practices (SMP) and
Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committees continued to support their
constituencies.
• Global Representation and Advocacy. A number of key themes for speaking out have been
identified, including:
o Public Sector Financial Management and Accountability;
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