July 6, 2007
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In This Issue:
- New Good Practice Guidance Developed for Accountants in Business
- Comments Sought on Exposure Draft on Discounted Cash Flow
- New Guidance on Developing Codes of Conduct for Organizations
- Please Complete Survey on the Financial Reporting Supply Chain
- Global Search Engine Supports Professional Accountants in Business
- IFAC Launches International Center for Professional Accountants in Business
- PAIB Committee to Develop New Information Paper on Internal Control
- Next PAIB Committee Meeting
1. New Good Practice Guidance Developed for Accountants in Business
The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is developing new principles-based good practice guidance on financial and management accounting and other topics, and is seeking comments on a proposed new Preface to IFAC's International Management Accounting Statements and International Good Practice Guidance. The proposed Preface sets out the objective, scope and due process of two new types of benchmark guidance: International Management Accounting Statements and International Good Practice Guidance. Both types of documents establish fundamental principles and provide supporting application guidance to reflect good practice. The PAIB Committee seeks input on the approach set out in the Preface and the proposed document types.
Comments on the exposure draft are requested by September 12, 2007 and can be emailed to edcomments@ifac.org.
2. Comments Sought on Exposure Draft on Discounted Cash Flow
The PAIB Committee is also seeking comments on a proposed International Management Accounting Statement, Project Appraisal Using Discounted Cash Flow. The proposed guidance aims to support professional accountants in business in applying and promoting the use of discounted cash flow and net present value to evaluate investments. Comments are requested by September 12, 2007, and the exposure draft can be viewed at http://www.ifac.org/eds.
3. New Guidance on Developing Codes of Conduct for Organizations
The PAIB Committee has released the first International Good Practice Guidance, entitled Defining and Developing an Effective Code of Conduct for Organizations. This new guidance is designed to assist professional accountants and their organizations in developing and implementing a code of conduct within a values-based culture. The PAIB Committee welcomes further feedback on this document during the exposure period for the Preface.
The new guidance and other publications on topics of interest to professional accountants in business can be downloaded free-of-charge from the IFAC online bookstore.
4. Please Complete Survey on the Financial Reporting Supply Chain
IFAC is conducting a global survey to obtain the views of all those in the financial reporting supply chain, including professional accountants in business, investors and other users of financial reports, auditors, regulators and others on ways to strengthen the financial reporting process. The survey is part of an IFAC project to analyze the financial reporting supply chain and develop recommendations to further improve the quality of financial reporting. The survey may be completed through July 20, 2007 and can be accessed online at http://www.ifac.org/financialreportingsurvey/.
5. Global Search Engine Supports Professional Accountants in Business
IFACnet, the global, multilingual accountancy search engine developed by IFAC and its member bodies, recently expanded its resources and added new features. Now, professional accountants in business and those in small and medium practices can access a wide range of articles, good practice guidance, and other resources developed by IFAC and nearly 30 participating organizations. Additional organizations with information of interest to professional accountants will be joining IFACnet in the coming months.
To keep users current on professional and marketplace issues, several new features have been added to IFACnet, including a “Latest News†page with links to business and accounting media websites, a search box that enables users to search IFACnet directly from their Internet browser, and a "What's New" section to inform visitors of new IFACnet features and content. IFACnet can be accessed on its home page, http://www.ifacnet.com, and on the websites of participating organizations.
6. IFAC Launches International Center for Professional Accountants in Business
IFAC has launched a new International Center for Professional Accountants in Business on its website that features the documents mentioned above and many other resources for professional accountants in business. The International Center also features a direct link to IFACnet, the global search engine, and includes information about the work program of IFAC's PAIB Committee. In addition, IFAC is seeking input to determine the level of interest in an online Community to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices among professional accountants in business through its website. The International Center for PAIBs can be accessed at http://www.ifac.org/paib.
7. PAIB Committee to Develop New Information Paper on Internal Control
Following the release in August 2006 of Internal Controls - A Review of Current Developments, a series of interviews were held with senior officers from around the world about their personal experiences with the development of internal controls in their organizations. The PAIB Committee will publish these interviews as an information paper later in 2007. In addition, the committee is developing an exposure draft of principles-based guidance on internal control from a risk-based perspective that it plans to issue by early 2008.
For more information on the work of the PAIB Committee, visit: http://www.ifac.org/PAIB/Committee.php.
8. Next PAIB Committee Meeting
The next meeting of the PAIB Committee will be held in Montreal, Canada on October 1-3, 2007 and will be followed by the 2007 International Financial Executives Leadership Forum. For more information on the forum, visit: http://www.ifelf.com.
Highlights from previous PAIB Committee meetings can be downloaded at http://www.ifac.org/paib/Committee.php.
For more information about any of the items mentioned above or other information about the IFAC, please contact: pr@ifac.org.
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 155 members and associates in 118 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 standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. Through its Professional Accountants in Business Committee, IFAC issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.