The International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) and Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) today announced the release of their new report From Crisis to Confidence: Good Regulation, Governance, and Culture.

The report is an output of a July 2016 roundtable discussion convened by IFAC and ICAEW, which brought together 50 UK and EU chief and senior executives from business and regulatory bodies. The executives met to discuss and debate how the global regulatory environment can be enhanced—with an ultimate goal of improving confidence in the financial and capital markets, business, and government.

“The expertise of the roundtable’s participants makes their clear and candid call for stronger organizational governance all the more important. At a time when we are seeing citizens express a deepening mistrust of government and institutions through the political process, reframing the thinking around how to develop smart and effective regulation is vital,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer, Fayez Choudhury.

Other topics discussed at the roundtable summarized in the report include:

• Governance and culture: Why almost ten years after the global financial crisis, rebuilding public trust in financial and capital markets, business, and government remains a vital goal, despite the significant progress achieved from a regulatory perspective.
• Regulatory fragmentation: How differences in cultures and expectations concerning regulation, and different legal environments, are leading to an increasingly fragmented international regulatory environment.
• Complexity of regulation: Why it is important to achieve the right balance in the regulatory environment and how unnecessary complexity is sometimes created when we seek compliance-based regulatory solutions.
• The future of regulation: How a holistic view that seeks to create a stronger system for today and tomorrow, rather than addressing past issues, is the right one for the global regulatory environment.

The second in a series of discussions, the roundtable reinforced the need for effective and smart regulation in a global economy amidst global political unrest.

Michael Izza, ICAEW Chief Executive, said, “Although regulation is only one piece of the puzzle, we cannot rebuild trust unless society has faith that those regulations protect the public interest. This trust is undermined when the rules are too complex, too fragmented, or their purpose is unclear. At the same time, we need to recognize that regulation can’t do it all. Companies must take responsibility for the way they operate. This is why we are calling for everyone to work together to end the culture of piling on more and more rules and find answers that achieve the primary aims of protecting the public and encouraging ethical behavior.”

The full report, From Crisis to Confidence: Good Regulation, Governance, and Culture, is available on the IFAC website.

ICAEW Media Enquires
James Douglass, Media Relations Manager, +44 20-7920-8718

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 more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

About ICAEW
ICAEW is a world leading professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports over 147,000 chartered accountants worldwide. We provide qualifications and professional development, share our knowledge, insight and technical expertise, and protect the quality and integrity of the accountancy and finance profession.

As leaders in accountancy, finance and business our members have the knowledge, skills and commitment to maintain the highest professional standards and integrity. Together we contribute to the success of individuals, organisations, communities and economies around the world.

Because of us, people can do business with confidence.

ICAEW is a founder member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide and the Global Accounting Alliance.

About #BuildTrust
IFAC is dedicated to facilitating a conversation that puts trust and integrity at the heart of the global economy. Strong, transparent, and accountable organizational governance and smart global regulation are critical. Without them, we can’t build trust in the financial systems that underpin the world’s interconnected economy. We’d love to see you join the conversation on Twitter. Click here to spread the message and help #BuildTrust.

Following a rigorous nominations process, the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) today announced the appointments of three outstanding members of the global accountancy profession to lead important committees supporting the profession: Monica Foerster as Chair of the Small and Medium Practices (SMP) Committee; Arjuna Herath as Chair of the Professional Accountancy Organization (PAO) Development Committee; and Charles Tilley for a second term as Chair of the Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee. The IFAC Board approved their appointments for three-year terms beginning January 1, 2017.

“All three Chairs are proven leaders with deep expertise who are profoundly committed to the public interest. They bring substantial experience that will be of great benefit to the global profession,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer Fayez Choudhury. “We look forward to working with them to advance our support for SMPs, accountants in business, and the development of PAOs—all vital components of a strong global accountancy profession.”

SMP Committee

As SMP Committee Chair, Ms. Foerster will play a key role in directing and representing IFAC’s work to support the SMP/small- and medium-sized entity (SME) sector worldwide. The SMP Committee provides strategic advice to IFAC and undertakes activities in three main areas: input on international standards development to help ensure their proportionality and scalability to the sector; developing and sharing practical guidance and resources; and raising awareness of the value of SMPs/SMEs worldwide.

Ms. Foerster comes to her new role having previously served as SMP Committee Deputy Chair (2015-2016) and as a member since 2014. With over 20 years of experience in the accountancy profession, Ms. Foerster is currently a partner at Confidor—an accounting, tax, and law firm—and SMP Director and Working Group coordinator at the Instituto dos Auditores Independentes do Brasil (Ibracon), an IFAC member organization. Additionally, she is a Counselor at the Brazilian Accounting Council (CRCRS).

PAO Development Committee

The PAO Development Committee serves as an important advisor to IFAC in its work to develop, promote, and strengthen the accountancy profession and PAOs in the public interest. As Chair, Mr. Herath will provide direction to the committee’s efforts, including input to guidance and outreach to raise awareness of the role of the profession and PAOs in economic development. Mr. Herath will also serve as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for MOSAIC, the Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Accountancy and Improve Collaboration, alongside a Co-Chair representing the donor signatories. 

A member of the committee since 2013, Mr. Herath joined the committee as President of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and the South Asian Federation of Accountants, and is a partner at Ernst & Young Sri Lanka and Maldives. He has more than two decades of experience as a Chartered Accountant in industry, commerce, and public practice. Mr. Herath also serves on the Board of Directors of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board and completed a term on the board of the Confederation of Asia Pacific Accountants and as a commissioner of the Sri Lanka Securities and Exchange Commission.

PAIB Committee

Re-appointed as Chair of the PAIB Committee, Mr. Tilley will continue to provide leadership to IFAC’s work supporting and promoting professional accountants in the private and public sectors, who work in a wide variety of roles critical to the success and sustainability of their organizations. As strategic advisors to IFAC, the PAIB Committee identifies relevant business and accountancy issues that need to be addressed by the global profession, and advises on how best to do so. The PAIB Committee provides input into IFAC initiatives, projects, and activities to ensure inclusion of perspectives and issues relevant to professional accountants in business, and supports knowledge exchange among PAOs.

Mr. Tilley has served as Chair of the Committee since 2014, and is a former IFAC Board member and Business Reporting Project Chair. He recently became Executive Chair of the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) Research Foundation, after stepping down as Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), a role he had held since 2001. Additionally, he sits on the UK Financial Reporting Council’s Lab Steering Group, is Senior Advisor to the International Integrated Reporting Council Board Chair, and is a Council member of the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sustainability. Previously, he served on the UK Treasury Best Practice Panel. In 2016, Mr. Tilley was recognized on the UK’s New Year’s Honors List and awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services to the economy, leadership, and significant achievements.

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. It is comprised of more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

It has long been recognized that small- and medium-sized entities (SMEs) power the global economy. And accountants working in small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs) remain their most trusted advisor, according to a report released today by the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®).

Informed by a comprehensive literature review, the report illustrates the important relationship between SMPs and their clients—primarily SMEs. It examines the key drivers of the advisor-client relationship, including demand for—and supply of—SMP business advisory services. Growth implications for SMPs, as well as how professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) around the world can support them, are also explored.

“Today’s SMPs are knowledge-rich service providers with great potential to expand beyond compliance to fill a variety of business advisory roles. The report highlights factors that can help them understand how to most effectively evolve and diversify their service offerings,” said IFAC CEO Fayez Choudhury. “As SMEs have long been considered the ‘engine rooms’ of global growth and development, it is important that IFAC and PAOs help make SMPs aware of the opportunities that will help them and their clients thrive.”

Among other findings, the report reveals the following insights:

• A number of factors influence SMEs’ demand for advice, including both external factors, such as competition and regulation, and personal factors, such as the relationship and level of trust between the SMP and the SME owner-manager, as well as the size and nature of the entity;
• Dependent on their size, competencies, location, and appetite for risk, SMPs are continuing to increase and diversify the array of business advisory services they provide to meet SMEs’ needs;
• Despite competition from other service providers, accountants, especially SMPs, remain SMEs’ preferred advisors; and
• Due to the multitude of factors involved, client-advisor interactions between SMEs and SMPs are complex, but generally these relationships are long term and based on a solid foundation of trust and communication.

For additional insights into each of these areas and more, access the full report and key findings on the IFAC website.

Commissioned by IFAC, researchers at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies and the University of Dayton conducted a literature review of over 90 academic research papers and reports published since 2010 in order to update the original Information Paper, The Role of SMPs in Providing Business Support to SMEs. The research was facilitated by the University of Dayton in accordance with an agreement with IFAC.

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 almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)’s Data Analytics Working Group is furthering its work to understand how the use of technology, and more specifically data analytics, is able to enhance audit quality. Today, the IAASB released a Request for Input, Exploring the Growing Use of Technology in the Audit, with a Focus on Data Analytics. Supplementing this publication is a call for nominations for a newly formed Project Advisory Panel to further advise the IAASB and the Data Analytics Working Group (DAWG) on developments relevant to standard setting.

“Technological change is occurring at a rapid pace, ushering in the capability to capture and communicate data digitally, on an unprecedented scale and almost instantaneously. With this change comes increased stakeholder expectations about how technology can be used to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of audits of financial statements,” said IAASB Chairman Prof. Arnold Schilder. “With this publication we hope to bring together relevant stakeholders to meet these expectations, which starts by fostering a dialogue about how innovative techniques can be used.”

The Request for Input provides insights into the opportunities and challenges with the use of data analytics in the audit of financial statements and outlines the insights gained from the DAWG’s activities to date. The purpose of the Request for Input is to:

• Inform stakeholders about the IAASB’s ongoing work to explore effective and appropriate use of technology, with a focus on data analytics, in the audit of financial statements; and
• Obtain stakeholder input and perspectives on whether all of the considerations relevant to the use of data analytics in a financial statement audit have been identified.

“We are encouraged by the work accounting firms, national standard setters, and others are doing to explore how data analytics can be used in the audit,” noted Bob Dohrer, IAASB member and DAWG Chair. “While the International Standards on Auditing do not prohibit the use of data analytics, the standards need to better address increasing complexity, taking into account the rapidly changing technological developments in both the business and audit environment. The Request for Input highlights that timely feedback about innovations in this area, including views about the potential implications to the audit of today, will be of use in a number of the IAASB’s current projects.”

The Working Group is seeking input from investors, preparers, those in governance roles, standard setters, practitioners, internal auditors, regulators, academics, and other stakeholders in the external reporting supply chain. The input will assist the IAASB in effectively responding to these developments in the public interest, including determining whether new or revised international standards or guidance may be necessary. Comments to the Request for Input are requested by February 15, 2017.

More information and updates on the project, are available on the IAASB’s project page.

About the IAASB
The IAASB develops auditing and assurance standards and guidance for use by all professional accountants under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IAASB, and the IAASB Consultative Advisory Group, which provides public interest input into the development of the standards and guidance. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IAASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). For copyright, trademark, and permissions information, please go to permissions or contact permissions@ifac.org.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is currently seeking nominations for its newly created Data Analytics Project Advisory Panel (the “PAP”).

Background to the IAASB’s Work on Data Analytics

The IAASB established the Data Analytics Working Group (DAWG) to inform the Board as to how and when to respond to developments in technology, in particular data analytics, most effectively in the public interest. Since its inception in mid-2015, the DAWG has performed outreach with various stakeholders, including accounting firms, National Auditing Standard Setters (NSS), audit regulators and oversight authorities, International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) member bodies and representatives of the IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee. In September 2016, the IAASB released the DAWG’s Request for Input, Exploring the Growing Use of Technology in the Audit, with a Focus on Data Analytics, which provides insights into the opportunities and challenges with the use of data analytics in a financial statement audit and outlines the insights gained from the DAWG’s activities to date. The Request for Input is open for public comment through February 15, 2017, feedback from which will help the IAASB further consider its next steps.

Overview of Plans for a Project Advisory Panel (PAP)

A PAP provides the opportunity for the IAASB to further engage directly with subject matter experts and other interested parties on a particular topic. The objective of this PAP is to provide the IAASB’s DAWG and staff with additional expert insight on strategic and technical aspects related to using data analytics in a financial statement audit. The composition of the PAP is intended to provide the DAWG with perspectives from practitioners who have expertise in the area of data analytics, and others with a particular expertise or interest in data analytics more broadly. This may include, for example, financial statement preparers, users of financial statements, internal auditors, audit committee members, regulators, audit oversight authorities, academics, NSS, and IFAC member bodies.

How the PAP Will Contribute to the IAASB’s Work on Data Analytics

It is anticipated that the PAP would contribute to further informing the IAASB’s work on data analytics by:

• Advising the DAWG (and other IAASB Task Forces and Working Groups as necessary) on the developments in the use of data analytics in the audit, thereby further informing the IAASB’s thinking and approach to its standard-setting activities in this area. For example, the PAP could provide input on matters relevant to how data analytics can be used in risk assessment, a matter being considered as part of the IAASB’s project to revise International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 315 (Revised), Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement through Understanding the Entity and Its Environment.
• Serving as a technical resource to the IAASB and DAWG and providing an external perspective related to making use of data analytics in a financial statement audit.
• Acting as a sounding board to the DAWG in its consideration of feedback from the Request for Input and when exploring the potential way forward, including the implications of various course of action and the timing in which those actions should be undertaken.
• Providing input to the development of any guidance or materials the IAASB may determine is necessary.

As the role of the PAP is of an advisory nature, there is no need for consensus to be reached on issues, or for votes to be taken; however, input from all members will be considered by the DAWG.

Submitting Nominations

The membership of the PAP is likely to consist of between 15-20 individuals with diverse experiences from various geographic locations. The ideal candidates will have a background in technology or subject matter expertise in field of data analytics. Please submit a brief profile citing why you are interested in being a member of the PAP to IAASBmeetings@iaasb.org by no later than October 15, 2016. The IAASB expects to inform those individuals who have been selected to be a member of the PAP by December 15, 2016.

The PAP will not hold physical meetings, but will conduct its discussions and information sharing via teleconferences or electronically. The PAP teleconferences will be convened and chaired by Bob Dohrer, IAASB member and Chair of the DAWG. At present, the PAP is anticipated to utilize quarterly teleconferences, although the frequency of the teleconferences may change as the IAASB’s Data Analytics initiative involves. In the future, the IAASB may decide to conduct seminars, roundtables, public forum, or other meetings with interested stakeholders to explore aspects of making use of data analytics in a financial statement audit. To the extent a PAP member is invited to one of these events, any travel, accommodation or other related costs are to be met by the member, the member’s employer, or other organization sponsoring the member.

For More Information

More information and updates on the project are available on the IAASB's project page.

About the IAASB
The IAASB develops auditing and assurance standards and guidance for use by all professional accountants under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IAASB, and the IAASB CAG, which provides public interest input into the development of the standards and guidance. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IAASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

Enhanced collaboration across the accountancy profession’s global, regional, and national levels is a key success factor in achieving strong, sustainable professional accountancy organizations (PAOs), which are crucial to healthy economies. To encourage and support mutually beneficial partnerships that create stronger PAOs and strengthen the accountancy profession, the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) today released Counting on Each Other: Establishing & Maintaining Effective PAO Partnerships.

“A healthy economy needs a well-functioning accountancy profession comprised of skilled professionals who contribute to high-quality, decision-useful, and publicly available financial and non-financial information,” commented Alta Prinsloo, Executive Director, Strategy, and Chief Operating Officer. “A strong PAO is essential to the development of skilled professionals. Harnessing the collective knowledge and experience of organizations across the global accountancy profession can help developing PAOs realize their potential.”

The guidance offers practical insights on how to approach partnerships between PAOs, drawing on real experiences and successes. It explores laying the foundations for fruitful collaboration and ideas for managing partnerships effectively.

“The right partnership can support a developing PAO’s journey to reach its full potential and take its place in the global accountancy profession,” continued Ms. Prinsloo. “Effective collaboration can bring clear and sustainable benefits for capacity building, not only to the parties directly involved but also to the broader national, regional, and global accountancy communities. As a profession and community, there is much we can learn from each other.”

The guidance was developed as part of the PAO Capacity Building Series, which includes guidance on PAO governance, PAO advocacy and public policy, and engaging professional accountants in business. The guidance also builds on one of the key findings of the MOSAIC PAO Global Development Report, which cited the effective and efficient nature of knowledge-sharing relationships between PAOs as a means of sharing expertise.

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 more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce. 

Global economic stability can be greatly enhanced by stronger governance across both public and private sectors, and a stable regulatory environment. These principles form the basis of recommendations to the Group of 20 (G-20) by the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) today, ahead of the G-20 meeting in China on September 4-5.

“The global economic recovery is uneven, and social and political destabilization risks remain high in many parts of the world. To fortify the recovery, citizens and markets urgently need to see greater transparency across all organizations, which will help restore trust in the institutions that help underpin the world’s financial markets,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer, Fayez Choudhury.

“The G-20 has new opportunities to create an environment of sustainable, inclusive growth that benefits the world’s citizens. IFAC has consistently urged policy consensus and on-going cooperation between government, business, and the regulatory community. On behalf of the global profession, we renew that call today and ask the G-20 to put trust and transparency at the heart of the world’s economy,” he said.

IFAC calls on the G-20 to address:

• Strengthening governance, which in both the public and private sectors is at the heart of accomplishing the G-20 objectives of recovery, growth, and stability, as well as combatting fraud and corruption and restoring public trust and integrity.
• Promoting and adopting principles for good regulation to create a more consistent, effective international regulatory environment.
• Acknowledging the importance of international standards across all jurisdictions, including international standards for accounting, auditing and assurance, professional ethics and education, and public sector accounting.

IFAC’s full recommendations to the G-20, Trust and Integrity, are 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 more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)’s Integrated Reporting Working Group, dedicated to exploring emerging forms of external reporting (referred to as EER), has released a Discussion Paper, Supporting Credibility and Trust in Emerging Forms of External Reporting: Ten Key Challenges for Assurance Engagements.

“The IAASB needs to be at the forefront of the debates on external reporting and how professional accountants and other practitioners can contribute to enhancing credibility and trust,” said IAASB Chairman Prof. Arnold Schilder. “We hope this paper furthers the debate and helps us gain a deeper understanding of how the IAASB, as the global assurance standard setter, can contribute to the quality of different engagements, in the public interest, and where others can or need to play a role.”

The Discussion Paper explores:

• the factors that can enhance credibility and trust, internally and externally, in relation to emerging forms of external reports;
• the types of professional services covered by the IAASB’s international standards most relevant to these reports, in particular assurance engagements;
• the key challenges in relation to assurance engagements; and
• the type of guidance that might be helpful to support the quality of these assurance engagements.

The Discussion Paper also sets out the principal findings from research and outreach regarding developments in EER frameworks and professional services most relevant to EER reports, irrespective of whether such reports are part of the annual report or published as separate reports.

“External reporting is evolving and we know various professional services are being performed, including assurance engagements in accordance with the IAASB’s international standards,” said Merran Kelsall, IAASB member and Integrated Reporting Working Group Chair. “We have identified ten key challenges in relation to assurance engagements that we would like to explore further, recognizing the need for flexibility in these services as the external reporting environment continues to evolve and mature.”

The Working Group is seeking input from investors, preparers, those in governance roles, standard setters, practitioners, internal auditors, regulators, academics, and other stakeholders in the external reporting supply chain. The input will assist the IAASB in effectively responding to these developments in the public interest, including whether new or revised international standards or guidance may be necessary.

The Working Group has also developed materials to supplement the Discussion Paper, including FAQs. This material, as well as more information and updates on the project, are available on the IAASB’s project page.

Comments to the Discussion Paper are requested by February 3, 2017.

About the IAASB
The IAASB develops auditing and assurance standards and guidance for use by all professional accountants under a shared standard-setting process involving the Public Interest Oversight Board, which oversees the activities of the IAASB, and the IAASB Consultative Advisory Group, which provides public interest input into the development of the standards and guidance. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IAASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). For copyright, trademark, and permissions information, please go to Permissions or contact permissions@ifac.org.

Recognizing the essential role of professional accountants in business in strong and sustainable organizations, financial markets, and economies, the International Federation of Accountants^® (IFAC^®) today released Engaging Professional Accountants in Business: How to Build a More Relevant PAO and Profession. The guidance will assist professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) in strengthening engagement with accountants in business, the public sector, and academia as a means to expand their reach, influence, and contribution.

“Professional accountants in business drive sustainable organizational success,” said Alta Prinsloo, IFAC Executive Director, Strategy, and Chief Operating Officer. “Their engagement at the global, regional, and local levels will enhance the relevance of the profession and help build a deeper engagement with business and government, ultimately supporting the profession’s contribution to stronger economies.”

Professional accountants in business represent a broad spectrum of expertise and work in many sectors across all types and sizes of organization. Their diversity is a strength and an opportunity, but can make it difficult for PAOs to connect with them. This lack of connection is a detriment to the individual accountants, the profession, the PAO, and—ultimately—the public interest. This guidance supports a stronger connection by incorporating these members into the PAO’s governance and decision-making structures.

The guidance was developed as part of the PAO Capacity Building Series with the help of the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business Committee. It includes a case study from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.

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 over 175 members and associates in over 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board^® (IPSASB^®) has published IPSAS^® 39, Employee Benefits, which will replace IPSAS 25, Employee Benefits, on January 1, 2018, with earlier adoption encouraged.

This limited-scope project was part of the IPSASB’s strategy to maintain its existing standards, including updating them for relevant changes made to the equivalent International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The main differences between IPSAS 39 and IPSAS 25 are:

• Removal of an option that allowed an entity to defer the recognition of changes in the net defined benefit liability (the “corridor approach”);
• Introduction of the net interest approach for defined benefit plans;
• Amendment of certain disclosure requirements for defined benefit plans and multi-employer plans;
• Simplification of the requirements for contributions from employees or third parties to a defined benefit plan when those contributions are applied to a simple contributory plan that is linked to service; and
• Removal of the requirements for Composite Social Security Programs.

The first four changes above reflect those made by the International Accounting Standards Board to its equivalent standard, International Accounting Standard (IAS) 19, Employee Benefits, up to December 2015. The fifth change, removal of the Composite Social Security Programs section, reflects the IPSASB’s conclusion that the section was unnecessary in practice.

Exposure Draft (ED) 59, Amendments to IPSAS 25, Employee Benefits, proposed significant changes to IPSAS 25 to converge with IAS 19. After considering constituents’ responses and a revised version of IPSAS 25, the IPSASB decided to issue a new standard, IPSAS 39, which reflects the revisions proposed in ED 59 in a more user-friendly format.

“IPSAS 39, Employee Benefits, ensures that financial statements provide faithfully representative and relevant information about the financial impact of employee benefits, particularly defined benefit pension plans, while maintaining convergence with IFRS,” said IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers. “The issuance of a new standard is intended to present the new accounting requirements more clearly.”

An At-a-Glance summary of IPSAS 39 is also available. 

About the IPSASB
The IPSASB develops accounting standards and guidance for use by public sector entities. It receives support (both direct financial and in-kind) from the Government Accounting Standards Board, the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the South African Accounting Standards Board, the New Zealand External Reporting Board, and the governments of Canada, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

About the Public Interest Committee
The governance and standard-setting activities of the IPSASB are overseen by the Public Interest Committee (PIC), to ensure that they follow due process and reflect the public interest. The PIC is comprised of individuals with expertise in public sector or financial reporting, and professional engagement in organizations that have an interest in promoting high-quality and internationally comparable financial information.

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 almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.