Professional accountants in business and the public sector have an important role to play in leading their organizations through the challenging times ahead. In a recent report, Supporting Accountants in Business & Public Sector through Uncertain Times, the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business Committee (PAIBC) shares latest thinking on focus areas for finance teams, including on value creation, data, accountancy careers, and professional and skills development.

“Organizations are turning to their accountants and finance teams as trusted professionals for guidance in navigating the crisis and its economic implications,” said PAIBC Chair, Sanjay Rughani. “Times of crisis provide unique opportunities for radical change, often by necessity. But a crisis also offers many valuable lessons for the future.”

Through ongoing conversations with global business leaders, Rughani shares four additional recommendations for accountants to lead their organizations in the context of current uncertainties. These recommendations include:

• Financial management: Look for opportunities to drive cost control and savings, new sources of growth and revenue, and positive cash flows.
• Operational effectiveness: Drive thinking about the supply chain, digital transformation, data, and innovation.
• Leadership: Support strong governance, deliver frequent and authentic communications, and evolve commitments to social purpose; and
• Planning: Update scenario planning and risk management, monitor and respond to market realities, and take the time to understand new stakeholder expectations.

Today’s business challenges make clear the need for strong information and analysis to support decision-making. Accountants working within organizations – both in the public and private sector – are well-positioned to provide this key information and to deliver in other areas critical to long-term success. CFOs and finance teams must embrace these opportunities to lead.

DOWNLOAD THE ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES HERE

The IAASB's International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 540 (Revised) Implementation Working Group has prepared illustrative examples for auditing simple and complex accounting estimates. The examples are designed to illustrate how an auditor could address certain requirements of ISA 540 (Revised), and have been developed to assist the auditor in understanding how ISA 540 (Revised) may be applied to:

•  Simple Accounting Estimate – Provision on Inventory Impairment
• Complex Accounting Estimate – Provision on Property, Plant and Equipment Impairment

The examples illustrate accounting estimates with varying characteristics and degrees of complexity. Each example illustrates a selection of requirements from ISA 540 (Revised). Not all requirements are addressed in each example, nor do they cover all parts of those requirements that have been selected. The requirements selected across each example vary to illustrate different aspects of ISA 540 (Revised) and to focus on those requirements that are most relevant to the example.

These examples are intended to be read together with ISA 540 (Revised). This will demonstrate how an auditor’s work effort, to comply with the requirements of ISA 540 (Revised), may be scaled down and scaled up when auditing simple and complex accounting estimates.

Click here for for more information and to view the illustrative examples. 

These examples do not constitute an authoritative pronouncement of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), nor do they amend, extend or override the ISAs or other of the IAASB’s International Standards. It is not meant to be exhaustive and reading these examples is not a substitute for reading the ISAs.

Additional illustrative examples are being developed to illustrate how an auditor may address the requirements of ISA 540 (Revised) in the context of more complex accounting estimates such as those relating to expected credit losses, and will be released in due course.

The IAASB invites you to join its webinar covering the previously released Public Consultation on Proposed Guidance: Extended External Reporting (EER) Assurance. The Consultation Paper is open for comment until July 13, 2020.

The webinar will be held on June 10, 2020 from 7am – 8.30am EDT

In this 90-minute webinar Lyn Provost, IAASB Member and Chair of the EER Task Force, will explain:

• what is meant by Extended External Reporting (EER)
• how EER Assurance engagements provide protection for the public interest
• how the IAASB’s proposed EER Assurance Guidance seeks to serve the public interest by:
• providing practical guidance on particular challenges practitioners face in performing EER assurance engagements,
• promoting consistent high-quality application of ISAE 3000 (Revised) to these engagements, and
• enhancing trust in assurance reports and engendering greater user confidence and trust in the reliability of EER reports.

Time will be provided during this webinar to answer questions. The webinar is open to preparers and users (including investors) of EER reports, as well as to assurance practitioners and regulators.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented sums of relief money moving across the global economy, the threat of financial crimes and malfeasance continues to grow. In this context, CPA Canada and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) today published a report that explores a key facet of uncovering and fighting illegal activities: beneficial ownership transparency.

The fight against money laundering, corruption and tax evasion requires the participation of several stakeholders, including accountants, who rely on strong legal frameworks and accurate information.

“Beneficial ownership information, which identifies who has controlling ownership of an entity, is important to the discovery of financial crimes,” said CPA Canada President and CEO Joy Thomas. “Enhancing the transparency of this information should strengthen anti-money laundering regimes and help in seeking out lawbreakers and their proceeds of crime.”

The report, “Approaches to Beneficial Ownership Transparency: The Global Framework and Views from the Accounting Profession”, contributes to the global conversation as countries grapple with questions regarding the extent to which, and by whom, beneficial ownership information is collected, reviewed and made available. Central to this discussion is the concept of beneficial ownership registers and registries.

In examining how various countries are complying with the recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on transparency and beneficial ownership information, and with the perspectives of senior accounting leaders across the globe, the report finds that:

• Establishing a public beneficial ownership registry does not immediately ensure that a country’s law enforcement and other agencies have access to accurate information in a timely manner. 
• In several jurisdictions, the move to a public registry has been a phased approach, starting with non-public registries and then transitioning to public registries; and
• Verifying information and ensuring appropriate levels of access are key factors in a registry’s efficacy.

“The global accountancy profession, with its strong public interest mandate, is a committed partner in the fight against financial crime,” said Kevin Dancey, IFAC CEO. “We are eager to advance important policy conversations, including those over beneficial ownership, and to work meaningfully alongside governments, law enforcement and other stakeholders to combat financial crime in all its forms.”

With this report, the authors offer considered insights on the most effective ways to comply with international anti-money laundering standards. To view the first report, visit:  cpacanada.ca/beneficialownership.

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 is comprised of 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.

About CPA Canada
Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada) represents the Canadian accounting profession, both nationally and internationally. Operating in the highly complex and global accounting ecosystem, CPA Canada is a convener, facilitator, contributor and disseminator of information that advances the profession. The organization works closely with the provincial, territorial and Bermudan CPA bodies to champion best practices that benefit business and society. With more than 217,000 members, CPA Canada is one of the largest national accounting bodies in the world. The organization supports the setting of accounting, auditing and assurance standards, advocates for economic and social development in the public interest, and develops leading-edge thought leadership, research, guidance and educational programs. cpacanada.ca

For more information:
Perry Jensen
Media Relations Manager
Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada
Tel: 416-204-3941
Cell: 647-807-4798
Email: pjensen@cpacanada.ca

Geena De Rose
IFAC Communications
Tel: 646-277-9390
Email: geenaderose@ifac.org

All stakeholders are invited to register and participate.

The IAASB invites you to join its webinar covering the recently released Exposure Draft of Proposed ISA 600 (Revised), Special Considerations—Audits of Group Financial Statements (Including the Work of Component Auditors).  The Exposure Draft is open for comment until October 2, 2020. The webinar is scheduled for Thursday, June 11, 2020 from 8:00 am EDT.

In the 90-minute webinar, Len Jui, IAASB Member and Chair of the ISA 600 Task Force, will explain the background of the project and will take you through the key proposed revisions to ISA 600 (Revised).

Please note that some time will be provided during this webinar to answer high-level questions.  A follow-up webinar will be held in August 2020. In that webinar, participants will be provided with more time to ask questions about the Exposure Draft.

This webinar will be recorded and placed on the IAASB Website at a later date.

Click the link below to register:

• Thursday, June 11, 2020; 8:00 am - 9:30 am EDT

If you have any questions, please email Armand Kotze at ArmandKotze@iaasb.org.

On May 15, IAASB released guidance on auditor considerations when undertaking procedures relating to subsequent events, in light of the changing environment due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Click here to learn more.

Professional accountants in business and the public sector have important roles to play in leading their organizations through the current crisis and the challenging times ahead. IFAC and its members are focused on supporting accountants as they navigate these uncertain times, and as they address other ongoing opportunities and challenges facing the global profession.

To continue this conversation, the latest report from the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee is now available: Supporting Accountants in Business & Public Sector Through Uncertain Times. It includes highlights from the 2-day virtual meeting of the PAIB Committee, which focused on key topics of relevance to accountants in business, including: 

• Value creation and integrated thinking;
• Latest recruitment trends, evolving accountancy roles, and implications on learning and development;
• Key areas of data for PAIBs;
• Areas of innovation in public sector finance and accounting; and
• Guidance on expanding PAO membership.

Access the report here.

IFAC has released the latest installment of its Exploring the IESBA Code educational series: Exploring the IESBA Code Installment 5 - Independence. The latest installment is live on a new landing page in the "Building Trust and Ethics" portion of the IFAC Website (click here). 

Exploring the IESBA Code is a twelve-month series providing an in-depth look at the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code). Each installment focuses on a specific aspect of the Code using real-world situations in a manner that is relatable and practical. Readers will gain a better understanding of the thought process behind important aspects of the Code through storytelling and expert analysis from professionals involved in developing the standards.

A professional accountant can often come across complex or challenging situations that are not black and white. These challenging situations require ethical considerations, some of which are expressly dealt with in the Code. This  unique and informational series was developed by IFAC in collaboration with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) to help explain how the Code assists in navigating some of these challenges.

To read and download this and future installments, visit the IFAC website.

Exploring the IESBA Code was published by IFAC and does not form part of the Code. It is non-authoritative and is not a substitute for reading the Code.

For more information about the Code, please click here. 

Today, IFAC published a ‘Small Business Continuity Checklist – How to Survive and Thrive Post Covid-19’.

Small businesses have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most organizations worldwide are small in size, and the importance of small businesses to the global economy is indisputable.

COVID-19 containment measures severely impacted cashflows, disrupted supply chains and put small business survival at risk on an unprecedented scale. Governments worldwide moved quickly to deploy supportive measures for small businesses and entrepreneurs to help them maintain short-term liquidity. However, many are still struggling.

Small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs) have in-depth knowledge of their clients and provide vital guidance for navigating these uncertain times. Research indicates the business advice provided to small businesses from their professional accountant is associated with improved rates of survival, growth, improved decision-making procedures and superior financial performance.

Poor financial management is a leading reason why businesses fail. The Checklist covers key financial management and strategic management tasks, helping businesses to proactively identify and consider essential and timely information.

Many businesses are looking for the “next normal” and a new approach to resilience. Early on, the pandemic accelerated digitization and transformed small businesses responding to drastic consumer behavior shifts. A small businesses ability to survive the current environment, and thrive in the future, will be greatly strengthened by support from their professional accountant.  

The Checklist is included on IFAC’s dedicated COVID-19 web page with many other useful resources.

The Staff of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) today released a Question and Answer (Q&A) publication, COVID-19: Ethics and Independence Considerations, to highlight aspects of the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code) that can be relevant in navigating ethics and independence challenges and risks as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-part document covers firstly topics relevant to all professional accountants, and secondly, topics pertinent to auditors and other professional accountants in public practice. Dr. Stavros Thomadakis, Chairman of the IESBA, offers his thoughts in the publication’s foreword.

The document can be found on the IESBA’s COVID-19 resource page, which serves as the Board’s landing page for topics related to COVID-19, including links to useful resources.