Presentation given by Szymon Radziszewicz, IFAC Senior Technical Manager, to the African Financial Management Group of the World Bank, Feb. 2012.

1. Developing the Accountancy
profession in Africa
Szymon Radziszewicz
Senior Technical Manager, Member
Body Development Team Leader
African Financial Management Group,
World Bank
February 28, 2012
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2. IFAC Member Countries
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3. What Does IFAC Do?
• Serves the public interest
• Establishes and promotes adherence to high quality
professional standards and furthers their adoption and
implementation of such standards
• Supports the global development of the accountancy
profession, professional accountants in business and
small and medium practices
• Shares in the regulation of the profession
• Speaks out on public interest issues where the
profession’s voice is most relevant
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4. An Overview of IFAC
IFAC Structure, Oversight, and Consultation
KEY
ACCOUNTABILITY
OVERSIGHT
CONSULTATION/ADVICE Monitoring
IFAC
Group
COUNCIL
Public
Audit Nominating Interest
Committee Committee Oversight
Board
IFAC IFAC
Regulatory
BOARD Liaison Group
Planning
and Finance
Committee
Forum Consultative Consultative Consultative Consultative
of Firms Advisory Advisory Advisory Advisory
Group Group Group Group
Professional Professional Small and International International International International
Transnational Accountancy Accountants Medium Compliance Auditing and Accounting Ethics Public Sector
Auditors Organization in Business Practices Advisory Panel Assurance Education Standards Accounting
Committee Development Committee Committee Standards Standards Board for Standards
Committee Board Board Accountants Board
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5. Ultimate Objective
Strong Accountancy Profession = Inclusive and
Sustainable Growth
Inclusive and
High-Quality Sustainable Growth
Financial Information
Accountancy
Profession
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6. 7 Statements of Membership Obligations
SMO1 Quality Assurance
SMO2 International Education Standards
SMO3 International Standards on Auditing
SMO4 International Code of Ethics
SMO5 International Public Sector Accounting Standards
SMO6 Investigation and Discipline
SMO7 International Financial Reporting Standards
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7. Understanding the SMO Applicability Framework
Degree of responsibility for an SMO area
Direct Shared No Responsibility
Implement all the For the elements for Use best endeavors
requirements of the which MB has direct to:
SMO responsibility follow the
approach for "Direct" a. Encourage those
In exceptional responsible for the
situations departures AND requirements to
are possible if can be follow this SMO in
justified from the public For the elements for implementing them;
interest perspective which MB has no direct and
and need to be responsibility follow the
documented approach for b. Assist in the
"No Responsibility " implementation
where appropriate
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8. Compliance Program
Self -Assessment
Overview of national
Benchmarking against the 7
regulatory and standard-
SMOs
setting framework
Action Plan
Strategic document illustrating a PAOs progress toward, or
continued compliance with, SMO requirements
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9. African Landscape
• Size of the continent
• Large number of jurisdictions
• Cultural and linguistic
• Diversity of regulatory frameworks
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10. Key Challenges
• Lack of financial and technical capacity in many
professional accountancy bodies call for:
– Investment in the accountancy profession by national
governments and donor agencies
– Support of regional organizations
– More advanced bodies acting as mentors
– Development of guidance and tools
• Abilities of bodies to clearly communicate challenges, and
need for resources is crucial to obtain assistance
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11. Key Challenges
• Outdated statutory frameworks call for revision and the
development of requirements related to:
– The empowerment of the various institutions and the clarification of their
responsibilities
– The ongoing adoption and implementation of international standards
– The establishment of QA review systems
• Professional bodies and other relevant institutions should
promote legal amendments and provide input as needed
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12. Challenges: Quality Assurance and Quality Control
• The structure of the program is not aligned with SMO1,
Quality Assurance
• QA system may have been established but may not have
been implemented or is not sustainable
• Quality control standards at the firm and engagement level
have not been mandated (need to adopt ISA 220 and
ISQC 1)
• The scope of engagement subject to review and the
timeline to develop the QA system are often inappropriate
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13. Challenges: Education and Development
• Need for both professional education and practical
experience
• University syllabus and final examinations not always
sufficiently updated
• CPD and monitoring of compliance with CPD may require
enhancement
• Professional bodies not always involved in final
examinations
• Pre-qualification education requirements do not provide
sufficient foundations for professional education
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14. Challenges: ISAs and IFRSs
• Adoption vs. Implementation
• Often one-time adoption and no ongoing mechanisms to
keep up with the pace of standards
• Lack of training, tools and guidance
• Local adaptation – significant gaps
• Translation challenges (West Africa)
• National standard-setting bodies are sometimes inactive
• Overlap of standard-setting responsibilities
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15. Challenges: Code of Ethics and I&D
• Outdated Codes of Ethics (not incorporating the threats
and safeguards framework) often based on foreign codes
• Lack of capacity to implement the Code requirements
• Lack of power and resource to properly investigate and
sanction
• The public is rarely sufficiently informed about the
existence and functioning of the I&D mechanisms
• Sometimes confusion between I&D and Quality Assurance
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16. Success Factors
• Work with PAFA, ABWA and FIDEF to support the
establishment and strengthening of PAOs in the region
• Support development and modernization of financial
sector framework
• Support existing processes of adoption and
implementation of international standards
• Encourage synergies and economies of scale with
regional standard-setters when they exist
• Encourage the development of implementation guidance
and tools
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17. Success Factors: IFAC’s Role
Develop the capacity of the accountancy profession
• Outreach to existing and potential IFAC Member Bodies
• PAO workshops focusing on capacity building and SMOs
Increase awareness building and knowledge sharing
• Mentoring Program
• Participation in regional events and alignment with regional
bodies
Engage and deepen development partnerships
• MOSAIC (Memorandum of understanding to Strengthen
Accountancy and Improve Collaboration)
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18. Member Body Development
CAP/ PAO
Compliance Development
Program Committee
Member Body
Development
Team
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19. Member Body Development Team
• Russell Guthrie – Development/PAODC
• Sylvia Tsen – Quality/CAP
• Szymon Radziszewicz – Team Leader
• Thomas Zimmerman/Darlene Nzorubara – West Europe
and Africa
• Joseph Bryson – Latin America and Caribbean
• Daria Koukhar – North/Cent/East Europe and Central Asia
• Gabriella Kusz – Southern Europe and Middle East
• Marta Russell – Asia - Pacific
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20. Tools and Resources
• www.ifac.org/ComplianceProgram
• www.ifac.org/about-ifac/professional-accountancy-
organization-development-committee
• www.ifac.org/SMP
• web.ifac.org/clarity-center/index
• www.ifac.org/Ethics/Resources.php
• www.ifac.org/Translations
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21. Thank you
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