Professional accountants make a significant contribution to the economy at the local, national and global levels. In each measure reviewed, a greater number of accountants correlates to better economic performance. Moreover, professional accountants who are members of IFAC member professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) correlate to even stronger performance on the economic indicators.

Train the Trainer: Introduction to IPSAS is a package of training materials developed by IFAC to assist government and government entities wishing to report in accordance with the accrual based International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

This is the second installment of a 6-month publication series titled Anti-Money Laundering, The Basics.

The series provides professional accountants with a better understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest. 

This is the tenth installment of a 12-month publication series titled Exploring the IESBA Code. This installment addresses Pressure to Breach the Fundamental Principles. 

To view all installments of Exploring the IESBA Code, visit the series landing page here.

For more information about the Code, click here.

Together with ICAEW, The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today released the first installment in its Anti-Money Laundering: The Basics educational series: Installment 1: Introduction to Anti-Money Laundering for Professional Accountants.  

The publication is part of a 6-month short series helping professional accountants enhance their understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest. The series, with its focus on accessibility and ease of use, will be a resource for Small and Medium Practices (SMPs,) and accountants less familiar with AML, while also providing guidance for those looking for a quick refresher or reference.

“Fighting money laundering—a key priority of IFAC—allows millions of professional accountants worldwide to make a real difference for the public good every day.” said Scott Hanson, Principal, Public Policy & Regulation at IFAC.  “Events like the recent FinCEN leaks serve as another timely reminder of the importance of remaining vigilant on this important issue.”

Sophie Wales, Director, Technical Strategy, Tax, Ethics and Law Group, at ICAEW, said: “We are pleased to launch this new educational series with IFAC, which we hope will help chartered accountants improve their understanding of money laundering. Accountants are the gatekeepers to the financial system and play a crucial role in identifying the red flags when it comes to economic crime, so it’s vital we do what we can to ensure criminals can’t find someone else to clean their dirty money.”

Anti-Money Laundering: The Basics will be featured on both the IFAC and ICAEW websites and available for download for free. To be globally relevant, the series uses the risk-based approach of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog – as a starting point. 

The series is the latest in IFAC’s ongoing commitment to promote AML in the public interest, following the organization’s Point of View on fighting corruption and money laundering –  and its recently released joint report with CPA Canada on Beneficial Ownership Transparency.

For more information about IFAC, visit www.ifac.org.

For more information about ICAEW, visit https://www.icaew.com/.

This is the first installment of a 6-month publication series titled Anti-Money Laundering, The Basics.

The series provides professional accountants with a better understanding of how money laundering works, the risks they face, and what they can do to mitigate these risks and make a positive contribution to the public interest. 

All IFAC member organizations are required to adopt and implement the International Education Standards, or support their adoption and implementation as part of fulfilling IFAC's Statement of Membership Obligation 2.

This IES self-assessment checklist will help professional accountancy organizations:

IFAC, the global voice of the accountancy profession, today called for the creation of a new sustainability standards board that would exist alongside the IASB under the IFRS Foundation. The proposed board would address the urgent and growing demand from investors, policy makers and regulators for a reporting system that delivers consistent, comparable, reliable, and assurable information relevant to enterprise value creation, sustainable development and evolving stakeholder expectations.

IFAC’s overview of the objectives, structure and building blocks of the proposed board can be found at The Way Forward.

Kevin Dancey, CEO of IFAC, said, “The time for a global solution is now. Given the momentum that has developed this year—because of work by Accountancy Europe, WEF/IBC, the European Commission, the IOSCO Task Force and the five leading reporting initiatives—we have a unique opportunity to act in concert to do the right thing in the public interest. IFAC believes the IFRS Foundation, with the backing of public authorities, is optimally positioned to lead and coordinate this initiative, and they would do so with our full support. We recommend that the proposed board adopt a “building blocks” approach, working with and leveraging the expertise and disclosure requirements of the CDP, CDSB, GRI, IIRC and SASB.”

Veronica Poole, Global IFRS Leader and Head of Corporate Reporting at Deloitte, said: “Transparent measurement and disclosure of sustainability performance is a fundamental part of effective business management and is essential for preserving trust in business as a force for good. IFAC’s vision is fully aligned with the joint vision of the leading standard-setters on how their current standards and frameworks could complement IFRS Standards and US GAAP, and serve as a natural starting point for progress towards a more coherent, comprehensive corporate reporting system.”

“We now have a unique opportunity to accelerate progress and house all the relevant standards under one roof as suggested by IFAC, to connect sustainability disclosure standards focused on enterprise value creation to financial GAAP. Integrated reporting together with the IASB’s work on Management Commentary can provide a framework for this connectivity. IOSCO has stated its commitment to bring about the system change for the capital markets and the IFRS Foundation trustees indicated that they are going to consult on introducing a sustainability focused standard-setter under the umbrella of the IFRS Foundation—the stars are lining up to bring about the fundamental shift in reporting that investors, business and society at large have been calling for.”

Charles Tilley, IIRC Chief Executive Officer, said, “The IIRC has long championed a vision of a comprehensive and cohesive corporate reporting system to drive effective corporate governance and sustainable value creation. Bridging the gap between the two worlds of financial reporting and sustainability reporting is a vital element in fulfilling this vision and we support the development of a conceptual framework, based substantially on integrated reporting principles, to facilitate the linkages that will break down silos and restore trust.”

Barry Melancon, AICPA President and CEO, and IIRC Board Chair, added, “IFAC’s recommendations are powerful, coming out at a time when the world is in search of answers. This is an important moment for the IFRS Trustees, as businesses and investors need robust and trusted standards and interconnected oversight. A cohesive approach to reporting is not just more efficient, it is essential to unlock the positive force of value creation. We also need innovation to complete the corporate reporting system, to ensure we have an assurance process that is fit for purpose and the technology to support high quality reporting and governance.”

About IFAC
The International Federation of Accountants (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 comprises more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

IFAC calls for the creation of a new sustainability standards board that would exist alongside the International Accounting Standards Board under the auspices of the IFRS Foundation. The proposed board would address the urgent and growing demand from investors, policy makers and regulators for a reporting system that delivers consistent, reliable, adaptable and assurable information relevant to enterprise value creation, sustainable development and evolving stakeholder expectations.

This is the ninth installment of a 12-month publication series titled Exploring the IESBA Code. This installment addresses NOCLAR [for PAPPs]. 

To view all installments of Exploring the IESBA Code, visit the series landing page here.

For more information about the Code, click here.