Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be here with you for this meeting of the IOSCO Emerging Markets Committee.

IOSCO and IFAC share many common objectives, including promoting stable global capital markets, ensuring high quality financial reporting and auditing, and helping emerging nations to develop the infrastructures necessary to support sustainable long-term growth. 

Today, I would like to discuss how we can continue to collaborate to build a stronger, more stable global economy.

Let me start by pointing out that professional accountants, with their roles in all sectors of the marketplace, from auditing public companies, to working inside business and industry, in government, the not-for-profit sector, and academia, play a fundamental role in the economic growth of countries around the globe, including emerging markets. One significant area in which IFAC has worked to support professional accountants in fulfilling this role has been in promoting the adoption of a common set of high quality international accounting and auditing standards by all countries around the world.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be here with you for this Forum for Strengthening the Accountancy Profession.

The city of Tunis is an excellent location for this gathering of international minds to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the accountancy profession and where we see the profession going in the future. Just across Lake Tunis sits the ancient city of Carthage, one of the first international trade and business hubs in the world. Ever since that time, with succeeding Berber, Arab, Ottoman, and French cultures all leaving their mark, Tunisia has grown and thrived as a center of culture, international commerce and as a gateway between Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Before I begin, I would like to briefly thank the Ordre des Experts Comptables de Tunisie and your President, Salah Dhibi, for hosting this event. I would also like to acknowledge and thank the two Tunisians who currently serve on IFAC boards and committees: Jelil Bouraoui, who serves as a member of the IFAC Board and as Deputy Chair of our Developing Nations Committee, and Hechmi Abdelwahed, who serves as a member of our Small and Medium Practices Committee.

It is through the service of volunteers like these gentlemen, and with the support and collaboration of IFAC's 157 member bodies and associates in 123 countries worldwide, and those of you gathered here today, that IFAC is able to fulfill its mission.

The core elements of IFAC's mission have remained constant throughout our 31-year history: serving the public interest, developing strong global economies, promoting international convergence, and serving as the voice for the global accountancy profession.

I believe that this mission will continue to guide our work in the future as we continue to build a strong and dynamic profession; one that is well-equipped to address the changing demands of the marketplace, to face ethical and technical challenges, to embrace new technologies and new types of reporting, and one that has the strength and the determination to continue to deliver quality.

The Public Interest Oversight Board has issued its third public report on its independent oversight of IFAC's public interest activities, including international standard setting for auditing, ethics and education, and the Member Body Compliance Program. The full report, which summarizes the PIOB's activities during the past year, is available on its website: www.ipiob.org.

The Public Interest Oversight Board has issued its third public report on its independent oversight of IFAC's public interest activities, including international standard setting for auditing, ethics and education, and the Member Body Compliance Program. The full report, which summarizes the PIOB's activities during the past year, is available on its website: www.ipiob.org.

Earlier this week in New York City, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) held a meeting with representatives of the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) to discuss their processes, achievements and challenges in adopting IFAC's international standards. More than 20 leaders of the accountancy profession, regulators and senior government officials from the BRIC countries attended this milestone event designed to help foster greater collaboration in achieving convergence to the global auditing, ethics and public sector accounting standards established by IFAC's independent standard-setting boards.

Government officials and leaders of the profession in all four countries indicated their commitment to adhering to IFAC standards and recognized that these standards play a vital role in ensuring that professional accountants and governments alike deliver high quality financial information. Each country presented an overview of their convergence plans and identified some of the challenges that they currently face, including capacity development, lengthy legislative processes, complex regulatory environments, and the need for translations of standards.

"We were heartened to learn that all of the participants were convinced that convergence is important for their countries and economies. This is indeed significant as these countries represent half of the world's population and are central to our global economy," states Fermín del Valle, IFAC President.

"We also realize that the road ahead for these countries, and many others in the emerging economies, is not an easy one. Their greatest challenge is moving from convergence to implementation, including remaining up to date on new and revised standards. IFAC is committed to helping these countries and others to meet this challenge," emphasizes Mr. del Valle.

The positive feedback from this meeting has prompted the group to consider setting up communications channels to continue the dialogue on technical and other convergence-related issues. IFAC will continue to support these initiatives and is encouraging other countries that share common interests or work in a shared region to work together on convergence and the implementation of international standards.

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

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the global organization for the accountancy profession, is seeking nominations for two public member positions on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) beginning in January 2009. Individuals, organizations, accountancy firms, and IFAC member bodies and associates may submit nominations for the public member positions by June 22, 2008.

Nominees for the public member positions must have an appropriate level of knowledge about the work of the IAASB, although they need not have a professional accountancy designation. Public members are expected to act in the public interest and must be seen to be independent of any special interests and seen to be acting to represent society as a whole.

The IAASB serves the public interest by setting, independently and under its own authority, high quality international auditing and assurance standards and facilitating convergence to those standards, thereby enhancing the quality and uniformity of practice worldwide and strengthening public confidence in financial reporting. More than 100 countries use or are in the process of adopting or incorporating the IAASB's International Standards on Auditing into their national auditing standards, or are using them as a basis for preparing national auditing standards.

Public members of the IAASB will participate in the development of assurance standards on green house gas emissions and reports on controls at third party service organizations, as well as the development of other new and amended international standards following the IAASB's rigorous due process. Some IAASB members will also be engaged in liaison activities with key regulatory and other organizations, including meetings, presentations and participation in forums and workshops.

For more information about general qualifications for nominees, their responsibilities, and the process for submitting nominations, see the Call for Nominations on IFAC'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 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. In addition to setting international auditing and assurance standards through the IAASB, IFAC, through its independent standard-setting boards, sets international ethics, education, and public sector accounting standards. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

Thank you for inviting me to join this very distinguished panel.

Given that this is an audience not primarily made up of accountants, I thought it might be helpful if I spent just a few minutes explaining who the International Federation of Accountants is, and what we do. This will provide some context for the remarks that follow. 

First, IFAC is an organization of professional accountancy institutes. We have 14 members and associates in the Middle East, including two here in Jordan - the Jordanian Association of Certified Public Accountants and the Arab Society of Certified Accountants.  In total we have 157 members and associates spread across 123 countries, representing approximately 2 ½ million accountants. 

As to what IFAC does, a primary function of the organization is to set professional standards.  Most importantly we set, through our International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). We also establish a Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, which is the basis for codes of ethics of our members. The other two areas in which we set standards are education (the International Education Standards) and public sector accounting, where we set International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs). The IPSASs are the equivalent of the International Accounting Standards Board's International Financial Reporting Standards, though the IPSASs apply to governmental organizations not companies. 

In addition, IFAC has activities that support its standard setting role.  In particular, we have a Small and Medium Practices Committee that provides input to the standard-setting bodies (and also to the International Accounting Standards Board) from the perspective of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small- and medium-sized accounting practices (SMP).  We believe it is critical that this perspective be reflected in our standard-setting processes. Also, we have a Developing Nations Committee which, similarly, seeks to ensure that our standard setting reflects the views and needs of developing and emerging economies.

I should note that in the post-Enron environment, IFAC made significant reforms to its standard-setting processes. These reforms could be characterized as moving from a self-regulatory model to a shared regulatory structure. A number of changes were made to our processes to ensure greater transparency but, most importantly, we established, along with the international regulatory community, an oversight structure that could ensure that our standard setting reflected the public interest. These reforms have now been in place for over three years and have done much to generate confidence in the standards set by the International Federation of Accountants. 

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), in partnership with the World Bank, is seeking expressions of interest from professional accountants to carry out an evaluation of the activities of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). The IPSASB, an independent standard-setting board within IFAC, develops international standards and guidance to improve public sector financial reporting and fiscal management. The IPSASB's activities are partly financed by World Bank funding grants and, under the funding terms and conditions, an external review of these activities is periodically performed.

The review will cover matters including the extent of adoption of IPSASB standards worldwide, the effectiveness of the World Bank's involvement in the IPSASB's work, whether developing nations have an effective voice in IPSASB activities and whether the governance and management of these activities are transparent and accountable. The evaluator will also be free to propose other suggestions for improvements to the IPSASB's standards development program.

"This external review provides an important opportunity to demonstrate the value of the IPSASB's work in developing international standards to a key supporter and our wider constituents and will assist in identifying areas for improvement," states Mike Hathorn, IPSASB Chair.

Applicants must have substantive prior experience in public sector accounting or auditing. Direct experience with accounting or auditing standards setting is desirable. The evaluator must be a professional accountant and a member of a professional accountancy body.

The requirements for the evaluator and the issues to be addressed by the review are explained in the Terms of Reference for the Evaluation of Development Grants Facility Program, which can be downloaded from the IPSASB home page at http://www.ifac.org/PublicSector/Projects.php. The deadline for submitting an application to be the evaluator is 12:00 pm (EST), Friday, May 31, 2008.

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. In addition to setting international public sector financial reporting standards through the IPSASB, IFAC, through its independent standard-setting boards, sets ethics, auditing and assurance, and education standards. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

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.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), an independent standard-setting board under the auspices of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), seeks to fill a key technical manager position.

The IAASB is made up of volunteer members from around the world. The technical manager's key responsibilities will include conducting project research; interacting with national standard setters and IFAC members and associates from various countries; and developing, editing and overseeing publication of IAASB exposure drafts, standards and guidance. Other responsibilities include:

• Drafting project proposals and presenting them to the IAASB and, as appropriate, to task forces;
• Attending IAASB meetings as well as task force meetings, participating in discussions and recording discussions and decisions;
• Preparing IAASB meeting agendas and papers and developing articles and speeches; and
• Assisting the Chairman and Executive Director, Professional Standards in responding to technical and process issues raised by the IAASB Consultative Advisory Group and the Public Interest Oversight Board.*

The ideal candidate for this position will have a professionally recognized accounting degree or other relevant qualification. An excellent knowledge of issues relating to auditing, and experience in the standard-setting process is a plus, as is an understanding of the special considerations relating to the audit of multinational entities, small and medium enterprises or public sector entities.

It is anticipated that the successful applicant will work at IFAC's headquarters in New York City. (About 25 day to 35 days per year of international travel are required.)

A complete job description, including additional information concerning preferred background and experience, is available on the IFAC website. Interested candidates should submit their résumé (CV) by June 20, 2008 to the IFAC Human Resources Manager.

About the IAASB and IFAC
The objective of the IAASB, an independent standard-setting board within IFAC, is to serve the public interest by setting high-quality auditing and assurance standards and by facilitating the convergence of international and national standards, thereby enhancing the quality and uniformity of practice throughout the world and strengthening public confidence in the global auditing and assurance profession. The Public Interest Oversight Board oversees the activities of the IAASB, and, as one element of that oversight, establishes the criteria for its due process and working procedures.

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.  In addition to setting international auditing and assurance standards through the IAASB, IFAC, through its independent standard-setting boards, sets ethics, education, and public sector accounting standards. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.

* Note to Editors
The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) was formally established in February 2005 to oversee IFAC's auditing and assurance, ethics, and education standard-setting activities as well as the IFAC Member Body Compliance Program. The objective of the PIOB is to increase confidence of investors and others that such activities, including the setting of standards by the IAASB, are properly responsive to the public interest. PIOB members are nominated by international institutions and regulatory bodies.