While in Kigali, Rwanda, for the CAP, which was hosted by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Rwanda (currently applying for IFAC membership), IFAC member body development staff and CAP members met with attendees of the East Africa Community Institutes of Accountants Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Strategy Meeting. The meeting brought together leaders of the East African PAOs to discuss the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) signed in September 2011.

The executives discussed developments and challenges within the accountancy profession and their organizations, including their IFAC Compliance Program Action Plan priorities. Members of the CAP noted the signing of the MRA between the five countries—Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda—represents a unique and positive step toward enhanced knowledge sharing and collaboration in the region, which has three IFAC members and one organization applying for associate status.

The meeting included a presentation from Vickson Ncube, CEO of the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), on the development of PAFA strategy and confirmation of its intention to apply for IFAC Recognized Regional Organization status in 2012.

The plan outlines the link between IFAC's activities and services in 2013 and its mission and strategies articulated in the strategic plan. It details the services planned to be delivered during 2013, the estimated costs of delivery of those services, the specific organizational and staffing matters to be addressed during 2013, and the 2013 budget to support the operations.

Members of the IFAC Member Body Development team were recently invited to present at a World Bank Financial Management Team of the Africa Region meeting, held in Washington, D.C. in Feburary 2012. The meeting gathered 45 members of the World Bank staff who work across the African continent. This presentation was given by Szymon Radziszewicz, IFAC Senior Technical Manager, on the IFAC Compliance Program, the Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs) as a framework for a high-quality accountancy profession, and the current status of the profession thought-out Africa. In response to a request from the World Bank, IFAC staff highlighted the key themes in each SMO and the action plan process as well as support tools available from IFAC staff. The World Bank expressed their interest in how they could support the implementation of IFAC SMOs and action plans on the ground in individual nations. The meeting also included an open discussion that focused on the different ways the Compliance Program and the World Bank Financial Management team can increase collaboration.

Presentation given at the inaugural Steering Committee meeting for MOSAIC (Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Accountancy and Improve Collaboration) in Jaipur, India, co-hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India and the Institute of Cost Accountants in India.

Additional information on MOSAIC is available in the launch press release and signing ceremony materials.

Over 40 participants representing 19 countries gathered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for IFAC’s Mentoring Insights – The Mentor Perspective workshop on February 17, 2012. The roundtable workshop brought together representatives from countries all over the world, including Australia, Canada, China, India, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, and the UK. Discussions centered around the drivers for undertaking mentoring; the areas in which support is most commonly sought; and the key success factors and challenges based on the experiences of those attending the event. The range of information gathered will be used to inform the PAO Development Committee Mentoring Program, and in particular the mentoring toolkit.

Below are some of the presentations given by attendees. The extended agenda for the event, Mentoring: The Path to Sustainable Development, and the Event Summary are also available.

In recent years there has been an increased focus on mentoring activity between professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) as a valuable way of sharing knowledge and transferring sustainable expertise. Recognizing the value of these relationships, IFAC member bodies around the world are working together through twinning arrangements, donor-funded projects, and a wide range of collaborative partnerships to support each other and less-established PAOs.

IFAC believes that the accountancy profession will have an essential role to play in resolving the current crisis and in building a reformed international financial system. Therefore, IFAC would like to support the G20 in its work in facilitating change throughout the world. In doing so, IFAC submitted separate letters (of which this is one) to three of the four G20 Working Groups. In each letter, IFAC provides recommendations in response to the general objectives stated in the G20’s Declaration from the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy issued on November 15, 2008.

IFAC believes that the accountancy profession will have an essential role to play in resolving the current crisis and in building a reformed international financial system. Therefore, IFAC would like to support the G20 in its work in facilitating change throughout the world. In doing so, IFAC submitted separate letters (of which this is one) to three of the four G20 Working Groups. In each letter, IFAC provides recommendations in response to the general objectives stated in the G20’s Declaration from the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy issued on November 15, 2008.