Two committees of the International Federation of Accountants have issued white papers addressing the roles of the profession itself and the profession's role in economic growth.
The IFAC Professional Accountants in Business Committee has released a new information paper titled, "
"This new paper demonstrates how the role of professional accountants in business is critical to the reputation and the credibility of businesses, their management and the accountancy profession as a whole," said PAIB Committee chairman Bill Connell, in a statement.
"Good standards of financial reporting founded on the contributions of auditors and accountants within business and government are key elements in establishing an attractive investment climate," said Ndung'u Gathinji, chair of the Developing Nations Committee, in a statement. "The creation of sustainable professional accountancy bodies fosters the capacity of the profession to deliver services which are critical to development efforts."
The guide addresses a variety of situations, including scenarios such as a formal accountancy profession not existing in a country, a situation where the profession exists and there is a desire to establish a professional accountancy body, and a setting where an existing professional body requires further development and enhancement.
"Because it is predicted that 95 percent of the world's population growth will occur in developing nations, and because a high-quality accountancy profession is key to economic growth, we have made strengthening the profession in those nations a key objective," said IFAC president Graham Ward, in a statement. "We believe that this guide will be a valuable resource to achieve this objective."
Both papers can be downloaded from the IFAC Web site at
