With the emergence of widespread economic and political uncertainty in 2022 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, IFAC highlights the interconnection between global cooperation, the sustainability agenda, the need for strong public financial management and the fight against corruption in this new G20 Call to Action.

Since 2017, IFAC and ACCA have gathered data across the G20 on the attitudes and opinions of the general public towards their tax systems, and the actors involved in them. Reflecting the views of over 5,600 people across 14 countries, this survey—the first that looks beyond the world's largest economies—provides an insight into whom they trust and what concerns them, backed up by expert opinion from professionals, academics and tax authority officials.

IFAC's Action Plan for Fighting Corruption and Economic Crime (Action Plan) provides a framework for how we can enhance the accountancy profession’s role in combating corruption and economic crimes, thereby advancing the UN SDGs. The framework is organized into five overarching pillars and includes over thirty actions, that are meant to evolve over time.

The State of Play in Reporting and Assurance of Sustainability Information: Update 2019-2020 Data & Analysis is designed to update understanding (based on 2020 reporting) of market practice for the assurance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG or sustainability) information, globally.

This report is an update to the The State of Play in Sustainability Assurance report published in July 2021.

At its March 2022 virtual meeting, IFAC’s Professional Accountants in Business Advisory Group considered the key global trends impacting the accountancy profession.

Countries around the world are searching for ways to shift capital investments into activities that support the transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon economy. To finance that massive change, investors and regulators are looking to the sustainable debt market as an important vehicle in raising funds to finance projects that advance environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) works with our valued member organizations, network partners, and others to facilitate the translation of content, including standards and supporting materials from the standard-setting boards, IAASB, IESBA, and IPSASB, in almost 50 languages. In 2021, with the help of 36 different organizations, we developed 159 translations in 24 different languages.

How much does audit cost? How does this compare to the fees companies pay for other professional services provided by statutory auditors? These questions are the starting point for this report. But when talking about listed companies in different jurisdictions and of all sizes, absolute figures may not shed meaningful comparative insight.

As the drive toward a global system for sustainability-related reporting continues, investors, regulators and policymakers are turning their attention to the important role of assurance in ensuring high-quality reporting. With the growing importance of—and reliance on—sustainability information, low-quality assurance is an emerging investor protection and financial stability risk.