Saturday, October 31, 2015

Revised Definition of the Professional Accountant



What is a professional accountant? Some years ago, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) undertook a project to develop an international definition of the term professional accountant. The purpose of the project was “To support IFAC’s members and other professional accountancy organizations in the adoption and implementation of the International Education Standards by clarifying the definition of the professional accountant.”

In November 2009, there was a confirmed need to assess the current definition of the term professional accountant. A number of issues with the current definition were identified and it was concluded that a task force should be established to 1) evaluate the current definition, and 2) determine whether an alternative could be developed for further consideration. In March 2010, IFAC formed a task force and, through a series of informal discussion papers, IFAC staff developed a paper in January 2011. The progress of the IFAC staff paper was discussed in November 2011 and, at that time, a decision was made to cease any further work on the project.

However, in June 2012 the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) wrote to IFAC indicating that it believed that the project was important and should be completed. Consequently, the proposed definition was further refined in November 2012, incorporating the suggested changes and revisions made in response to the initial IFAC Staff paper, as well as revisions suggested by the Chair and technical staff of the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB). The status of the project was discussed at the November 2012 meeting of chairs of IFAC’s committees and the independent standard-setting boards, and it was agreed that the project had to be advanced by the IAESB for use in its pronouncements.

In response, the IAESB directed the Framework task force to expose the definition in the Exposure Draft of the revised Framework for International Education Standards for Professional Accountants to obtain public comment. To learn more, refer to the IFAC active project webpage, Revised Definition of the Professional Accountant, and the July 2015 version of the IAESB’s revised Framework for International Education Standards for Professional Accountants and Aspiring Professional Accountants which sets out the concepts that underlie its International Education Standards.