This paper features interviews with 10 senior-level professional accountants in business on their experiences in mid-sized enterprises. The purpose of these interviews is to better understand the unique challenges that mid-sized enterprises confront and how professional accountants in business help address these challenges.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) released its 2007 annual report today, highlighting IFAC's progress in achieving international convergence, its expanding role in supporting the profession in developing nations, and its initiatives to enhance the quality of work provided by professional accountants in the public and private sectors. In addition, the report describes IFAC's consultation with and outreach to regulators, standard setters, international development agencies, and other international groups in the development and implementation of its various public interest activities.

"The accomplishments of the past year are the result of a shared vision of IFAC, its members and associates, regional accountancy organizations, and others to strengthen the profession so it can effectively serve the public interest and contribute to economic growth and development worldwide," states IFAC President Fermín del Valle. "The report clearly demonstrates our commitment to transparency and building public trust."

A key feature of the report is the "Service Delivery" section, which describes IFAC services delivered against those planned in five key areas:

• Standards and guidance;
• Promoting quality;
• International collaboration;
• Representation of the accountancy profession in the public interest; and
• Information services.

"For the first time, the Service Delivery section of our annual report was reviewed by IFAC's independent auditor, and it received an unqualified assurance engagement opinion. This assurance statement reflects both our focus on services and our accountability to stakeholders,"states IFAC Chief Executive Officer Ian Ball. "It makes clear that we have delivered what we promised."

In addition to messages from IFAC's President and CEO, the report includes a message from Professor Stavros Thomadakis, Chair of the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees IFAC's Public Interest Activity Committees*.

The IFAC 2007 annual report can be downloaded from its website at http://www.ifac.org/About/2007AnnualReport.php. Print copies will be available in early-May and may be obtained by sending an email with your mailing address to pr@ifac.org.

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 157 members and associates in 123 countries and jurisdictions, 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. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

* The Public Interest Activity Committees are the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, the International Accounting Education Standards Board, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants, and the Compliance Advisory Panel, which oversees the IFAC Member Body Compliance Program.

To increase the accessibility of its standards and guidance to accountants worldwide, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Board has approved a proposal to move to one quality translation of IFAC standards per language and to consult with IFAC members, associates and other interested parties on the process to achieve this. As a result, IFAC has released a consultation paper entitled Translation of IFAC Standards that outlines a proposed translation process. The new process is designed to facilitate the ability of member bodies and other qualified organizations to translate IFAC standards and to ensure the timeliness and quality of such translations.

"Our ultimate goal is to achieve one quality translation per language of all IFAC standards," emphasizes IFAC President Fermín del Valle. "If IFAC is to accomplish its mission of encouraging high quality practices by the world's accountants, we must make our standards available to the widest possible audience."

While the official working language of IFAC and its boards and committees is English, IFAC recognizes that it is crucial for practitioners, legislators, regulators, educators, students, and others who work in languages other than English to have access to current IFAC standards in their native language.

IFAC has already initiated the process of strengthening its translation processes. It has created a dedicated translations web page that, among other things, features a translation database based on information submitted by third parties. The database features a listing of IFAC publications that have been translated, along with the name of the translating body and links to a list of key terms, where it exists.

How to Comment
The consultation paper can be viewed at http://www.ifac.org/eds. Comments are requested by June 30, 2008 and may be submitted by email to translations@ifac.org. They can also be faxed to the attention of the Director, Quality Assurance and Member Body Relations at +1 (212) 286-9570, or mailed to IFAC, 545 Fifth Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY USA 10017. All comments will be considered a matter of public record and will ultimately be posted on the IFAC website.

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 157 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 standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is inviting professional accountants and others who work in the public sector to complete an online survey on the ways in which public sector entities set objectives, measure performance, and report on results. Currently, there is little information available about public sector performance measurement structures around the world. This global survey is designed to identify similarities and differences in performance measurement structures and the extent to which these structures help public sector entities meet their objectives. The survey also seeks examples of strengths and weaknesses of performance measurement structures and what can be done to further improve the assessment, monitoring and reporting of financial and non-financial performance in the public sector.

The survey is part of a project to help professional accountants in business and others in evaluating and improving performance measurement systems. The results will also assist IFAC's Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee in considering specific public sector aspects when developing its principles-based guidance.
 
The survey, which takes 10-15 minutes to complete, can be accessed online at www.ifac.org/publicsectorperformancesurvey. Responses are requested by April 30, 2008.

For more information on the work of IFAC's PAIB Committee, visit: http://www.ifac.org/paib.  

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 157 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 standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

A new report, Financial Reporting Supply Chain: Current Perspectives and Directions, emphasizes that significant efforts to strengthen financial reporting in recent years have resulted in improvements in three key areas: corporate governance, the process of preparing financial reports, and the audit of financial reports. However, despite improvements to the financial reporting process, the report points out that the understandability of financial reports has not improved.

Commissioned by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the report's findings are based on an independent global survey of participants in the financial reporting supply chain. The survey, conducted in 2007, sought to determine the extent to which the financial reporting process, and financial reports themselves, have improved and where there is need for further action to make them more relevant. More than 340 participants from all sectors of the financial reporting supply chain worldwide - including investors, preparers, company management and directors, auditors, standard setters, and regulators - took part in the survey. In addition, interviews were conducted with 25 high-level participants in the supply chain, including investors, company directors, CFOs, and regulators. The project was led by Norman Lyle, who recently retired as group finance director of Jardine Matheson Limited in Hong Kong.

Among the key findings, the survey found that corporate governance has improved, fueled by an increased focus on corporate governance and changes to company codes and standards.  In commenting on improvements to the financial reporting process, survey participants indicated that convergence to international standards, enhanced regulations governing financial reporting, and improved internal control over financial reporting systems all contributed to enhancing the reliability and relevance of the reports. Improvements to audit standards and practices and strengthened independence rules were seen as having contributed to enhanced audit quality.

"Despite the strengthening of the financial reporting process and the many improvements made, there is still much to be done to meet the needs of investors and other stakeholders," points out Norman Lyle, Chair of the Financial Reporting Supply Chain Project. "Survey respondents raised concern about the reduced usefulness of financial reports due to complexity and the increased focus by companies on compliance instead of reporting on the essence of the business."

Recommendations for Action

To address the usefulness of financial reporting, survey participants recommended:

• Improving communications among participants in the financial reporting supply chain;
• Producing financial and business information that is relevant, reliable and understandable;
• Including more business-driven information in financial reports; and
• Promoting the use of technology to enable users to compile their own information.

"IFAC is already working to address these challenges," emphasizes Ian Ball, IFAC Chief Executive Officer. "At its meeting in New York City last month, the IFAC Board approved a new project that will analyze actions currently being taken to address the suitability of business reporting and identify areas for future development. This project will take the findings of the financial reporting supply chain report to the next stage and deliver specific recommendations for further action."

The full report, Financial Reporting Supply Chain: Current Perspectives and Directions, is available on the IFAC website.

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 157 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 standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

This independent report, commissioned by IFAC, highlights improvements that have been made to the financial reporting supply chain in recent years and identifies areas for further improving the usefulness of financial reports.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession, is seeking nominations for the position of IFAC Deputy President and for members of its boards and committees for 2009, including three public member positions. IFAC member bodies, and in some instances members of the Forum of Firms and members of the public, may nominate candidates by April 15, 2008. The IFAC Deputy President and all members of IFAC's boards and committees are expected to act in the public interest and must sign a declaration committing to act with integrity and in the public interest in their role within IFAC.

Deputy President
IFAC member bodies may nominate individuals for the position of Deputy President for the period November 2008 to November 2010. Candidates for the position of Deputy President must be a current or nominated member of the IFAC Board. After serving a two-year term, the Deputy President will assume the Presidency of IFAC.

The Deputy President works with the President and Chief Executive Officer in implementing IFAC's Strategic Plan; represents IFAC among its member bodies, various stakeholders, and other external organizations; and chairs IFAC's Planning and Finance Committee. A nominee for the position of Deputy President should be a very senior and highly respected member of the profession with exceptional leadership skills. He or she should also have an awareness of the social and economic environment in which the global profession, IFAC and its member organizations operate.

Member Body Nominations for Board and Committees
Member bodies are also invited to nominate qualified candidates for open positions on the following IFAC boards and committees for terms commencing January 1, 2009:

• IFAC Board;
• International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board;
• International Accounting Education Standards Board;
• International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants;
• International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board;
• Compliance Advisory Panel;
• Developing Nations Committee;
• Professional Accountants in Business Committee;
• Small and Medium Practices Committee; and
• Nominating Committee.

Member bodies may submit more than one nomination for each board or committee, and they are encouraged to nominate candidates with varying backgrounds.

Public Member Nominations
IFAC is also seeking nominations for two public member positions on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and one public member position on the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board. Public members must be seen to be independent of any special interests and seen to be acting to represent society as a whole. Nominees for the public member positions must have an appropriate level of knowledge about the work of the respective standard-setting board, although they do not need to have a professional accountancy designation. IFAC member bodies, regional accountancy organizations, other organizations, accounting firms, and members of the general public may submit public member nominations, but in all cases the individuals nominated must clearly represent the broad public interest.

Forum of Firms Nominations
A total of five positions on the standard-setting Public Interest Activity Committees¹ are open to nominations from members of the Forum of Firms, an association of international networks of accounting firms that perform audits of financial statements that are or may be used across national borders. Two positions are open on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, one position is open on the International Accounting Education Standards Board, and two positions are open on the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants.

How to Submit Nominations
The Call for Nominations for IFAC Boards and Committees in 2009 describes the positions available and the qualifications required for each position, as well as the process for submitting nominations. The Call for Nominations may be viewed on IFAC's website at http://www.ifac.org/NominatingCommittee/index.php#Process. All nominations must be submitted by April 15, 2008 using the online Candidate Information System. For more information about the role and activities of each of IFAC's boards and committees, visit its website at http://www.ifac.org/.

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 157 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 standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

¹ The standard-setting Public Interest Activity Committees are the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, the International Accounting Education Standards Board, and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants.

An active and well-established professional accountancy organization plays an essential role in promoting high quality practice in its country or jurisdiction. An important means to build strong accountancy organizations in developing countries is through collaboration and mentoring relationships with more established professional bodies. As part of its strategy to develop the accountancy profession worldwide, the International Federation of Accountants' (IFAC) Developing Nations Committee has released new guidance, entitled Mentoring Guidelines for Professional Accountancy Organizations, to support the development of collaborative and mentoring relationships between professional accountancy organizations.

The guidelines focus on supporting mentoring relationships designed to help accountancy organizations achieve compliance with IFAC's Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs). The SMOs provide benchmarks to current and potential IFAC members to assist them in ensuring high quality performance by professional accountants. They require IFAC members to promote convergence to international standards and to have in place quality assurance and disciplinary programs.

"Experience has shown that mentoring relationships between professional accountancy organizations is one of the most effective means to strengthen the profession, particularly in developing economies," states Ignatius Sehoole, Chairman of the Developing Nations Committee. "These guidelines capture the experience and good practice of many IFAC members who have participated in this type of work in the past, and the committee hopes they will encourage other IFAC members to contribute to the development of the profession."

The new Mentoring Guidelines are also intended to help professional bodies in developing countries build sustainable capacity and to facilitate the sharing of accumulated knowledge between established professional bodies and organizations at an earlier stage of development. Various stages of mentoring are outlined in the document, including considerations before setting up a relationship, involving other entities such as government and aid agencies, and managing possible risks. The guidelines also include a sample Memorandum of Understanding. 

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 157 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 standards on ethic, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee has released a report on research into whether the proposed International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs), developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), is suitable for micro-entity financial reporting. The paper, Micro-Entity Financial Reporting: Some Empirical Evidence on the Perspectives of Preparers and Users, presents the findings of focus group interviews of users and preparers of micro-entity financial reports in Italy, Kenya, Poland, Uruguay, and the United Kingdom.

Focus group participants indicated that the current exposure draft of the IFRS for SMEs appears to be too complex for micro-entities - defined as entities with fewer than 10 employees - and suggested that relatively minor changes to the current draft might not be sufficient to address this concern. Participants who supported the development of a separate set of accounting guidance for micro-entities generally felt that two levels should be developed: a concise version that would be easy for business owners to follow and understand and a more technical version for preparers of financial statements. In addition, there was general support for some form of attestation, such as a statement made by the professional accountant, to be attached to the financial reports of micro-entities.

"The research offers some interesting insights into the views of preparers and users drawn from a small but diverse range of countries," states Sylvie Voghel, Chair of the IFAC SMP Committee. "While these countries do not constitute a globally representative sample, the research does question the suitability of the proposed IFRS for SMEs to micro-entities."

The paper was developed as part of the second phase of the SMP Committee's project on micro-entity financial reporting and follows the release in December 2006 of an information paper entitled Micro-Entity Financial Reporting: Perspectives of Preparers and Users. The findings in the new paper were considered in the development of the IFAC comment letter on the proposed IFRS for SMEs, which can be viewed online.

The following IFAC member bodies assisted in organizing focus groups: Accountants Association in Poland, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Colegio de Contadores Economistas y Administradores del Uruguay, Consiglio Nazionale Dottori Commercialisti, and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya. The research was undertaken by Dr. Suki Sian of Cardiff Business School, Wales and Professor Clare Roberts of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

The information paper can be downloaded free-of-charge from the SMP section of the IFAC online bookstore. Further information on IFAC's work to support SMPs and SMEs is available at http://www.ifac.org/smp.

For more information on the development of an IFRS for SMEs, visit the IASB's website.

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 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 establishes international standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business and those working in small and medium practices.

This paper presents the findings of focus group interviews on whether the proposed International Financial Reporting Standard for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs), developed by the International Accounting Standards Board, is suitable for micro-entity financial reporting.