Secretariat:
Street address:
Block B, CPA Centre
Ruaraka, Thika Road
Nairobi Kenya.
ECSAFA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Postal Address:
P. O. Box 4259 – 00100 Nairobi.
Tel: 254 20 2021184
Fax: 254 20 2021184
Email: ecsafa@africaonline.co.ke
Website: www.ecsafa.org
ECSAFA
1.
Mr. Morgan Tembo - President (Malawi)
2.
Mr. Koos du Toit - Deputy President (Namibia)
3.
Ms. Jackie Tong - Member (RSA)
4.
Mr. Joseph Wangai - Member (Kenya)
5.
Mr. Saleem Kharwa - Member (RSA)
Chief Executive Officer/ Secretary - Mr. Vickson Ncube (Zambia)
NEWS
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2007
Welcome to this issue of ECSAFA News for the period July - September 2007.
In our bid to improve the ECSAFA News, we shall continue adding new features and
presentation styles. We request members who have suggestions on how we can improve our
News to give us their suggestions. To all of you, we earnestly appeal to you to send this
electronic News to all your members. We shall, from this Edition onwards be featuring a speech
that we believe will inspire you and your members. If any one of you has any speech that you
think should be shared with other members, please send it to us for consideration.
Featured Speech
ACCA Eastern Africa Holds Convention as Allen Blewitt sets the tone for
Professional Ethics
ACCA, Eastern Africa held its 2nd Convention on 25 – 27 July 2007 at the Speke Resort and
Conference Centre in Munyonyo, Uganda. The event brought together about 650 ACCA
members and other accountants from 9 countries in the region and the United Kingdom. The
theme of the Convention was “Balancing Organizational Success with Ethical Practice”.
Delivering his opening speech, ACCA CEO Mr. Allen Blewitt had this to say:
The Right Hon. 1st Deputy Prime Minister, Eriya Kategaya, Vice President of the Institute of
Certified Public Accountants of Uganda, Narendra Thakkar, distinguished guests, ladies and
gentlemen.
Firstly, I would like to thank the Deputy President of ICPAU for his excellent speech and very
kind words.
I am delighted to welcome you all to the opening day of this Convention, and am proud to be
addressing such a high level gathering of members from across the region.
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The issue, which we will be tackling over the next two days, is one, which finance professionals
around the world and in every sector are grappling with.
It is – in a nutshell – How can we be good at business and still be good?
It’s an issue, which faces everyone in this room – and we will be hearing examples of how people
have confronted those issues.
ACCA believes that confronting the ethical challenge requires not only a moral compass – but
moral courage too.
This applies to everyone in this room – from government leaders, the CFOs and Finance
Directors to those who may be just starting their careers.
For those in positions of influence and power, your responsibility is to set the ethical agenda and
direction of your organization – to ensure that employees know what you expect from them
…and that alongside working for the organization, they also work in the interest of their
communities.
And for employees you need the courage to hold true to your ethical beliefs in the face of what
may seem to be overwhelming edicts from management urging you to do ‘what it takes’ to make
profit or bring in business.
We all only have to think back to 2001 and the corporate scandals of Enron and WorldCom
which shook our profession to see what can happen when the moral compass gets lost and moral
courage goes missing- albeit temporarily.
The fallout from those events has set the regulatory agenda and created a series of challenges
not only for individuals, but also for professional bodies like ACCA, which have a responsibility
to support their members.
We have taken that responsibility as a ‘given’ for a number of years – but it became an
imperative as the reputation of our profession was tainted by the aftermath of the scandals and
the public perception of accountants.
While some jurisdictions – namely the US - took the view that it might be possible to prevent
some unethical behaviour by developing more regulation – ACCA took the view that the solution
to the issue would come through a set of principles.
We have sought to provide a framework of principles for accountants through their entire career
with us.
This starts when they study ACCA for the first time - in fact as we meet here ACCA students are
getting to grips with our new professional qualification which is examined for the first time in
December and which focuses more than ever on ethics and professionalism.
That focus was developed following the largest-ever consultation undertaken by an accountancy
body – when over 25,000 employers, tuition providers, members and students told us what they
wanted to see from a qualification for the 21st century.
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The result is that the minute students begin their journey with ACCA; they’re introduced to
ethics, governance and professionalism.
They have to tackle issues of professionalism and ethics in eleven (11) of the sixteen (16) papers
they will have to tackle, and we have introduced a dedicated paper – Professional Accountant,
which aims to ensure that trainees apply relevant knowledge and skills, and exercise
professional judgment, when carrying out the role of an accountant.
We have also developed a Professional Ethics module, which is designed to give students an
interactive way of exploring and practicing their own ethical attitudes. Our students and
affiliates are also required to demonstrate their ethical behaviour and sensitivity when
completing their practical experience requirements.
The aim of these requirements is to ensure that trainees are fully aware of the ethics, values, and
standards that apply to the professional accountant, and to make these standards a consistent
feature in all aspects of their work. This includes taking personal responsibility for actions, and
regularly reflecting on experiences to hopefully have a positive influence on their actions and
decision making in the future.
Once qualified, ACCA members must show an ongoing commitment to ethics, as our continuing
professional development scheme requires members to validate – every year – that they’re
behaving ethically.
In addition, we have developed a dedicated ethics micro site, which challenges users to identify
their own ethical style.
But importantly, the site and our tuition stresses one key point - that there is rarely a right or
wrong answer to ethical dilemmas.
We also stress that at the heart of every ethical dilemma lurks a conflict of interest, which is for
each individual to respond to.
What we attempt to do is equip our members to make that response confidently and competently
by providing a range of support materials - such as online courses, case studies, articles and a
range of library resources to enable them to exercise their ethical muscle.
We have invested time, effort and resources into helping our members and students develop an
ethical approach because we see ethics as impacting directly on ACCA’s reputation and
influence around the world.
If an ACCA member wishes to remain an ACCA member they have to accept their responsibility
to act in the public interest, and not simply to satisfy the needs of individual clients or employers.
As people, ACCA professional accountants are already expected to act ethically – in line with
the principles of ‘correct’ conduct in the society in which they live and work. The professional
ethics which they must accept will ‘raise the bar’ on acceptable levels of behaviour.
But what is regarded as ‘acceptable behaviour’ already presents dilemmas –it’s not always
obvious where the ‘right’ course of action lies.
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For example, Rushworth Kidder, President of Institute for Global Ethics, wrote:
‘The really tough choices.. involve right versus right, they are
truth versus loyalty,
individual versus community,
short-term versus long term
and
justice versus mercy’
The work, which professional accountants undertake as a type of business interpreter between
different parts of society, regularly puts them at the heart of often very public ethical dilemmas
and issues.
And ACCA will also expect senior accountants to act in a way that will set a good example to
junior staff. So there are internal as well as external audiences to be mindful of.
Surveys of our members around the world have shown that they are worried about how they can
build an overall corporate culture based on integrity, all the while dealing with intensifying
pressures from increased competition and the need to help grow the business.
Interestingly, our research also shows that while many finance professionals struggle with the
need to juggle codes of conduct and regulations along with doing business in a tough
environment, many said that despite the red tape involved in Sarbanes Oxley - they actually felt
it had a positive global effect on business ethics. Some even felt that there should be a more
stringent ethical framework!!
If there were to be such a framework - rather than a detailed attempt to legislate and regulate
ethical behaviour through sub-paragraphs and appendices – ACCA wants any guidance to be
principles-based, since that would be best suited to meet the needs of finance professionals in a
fast- moving business world.
The experiences of Enron and WorldCom in the US and Parmalat in Italy, all heavily regulated
business environments, show that legalistic, rules-based codes only encourage some individuals
to look for the loopholes to exploit.
What worries us at ACCA is that regulation can quickly become over-regulation. We believe
that regulation needs to be in proportion to the risk and the consequences of any misconduct.
This is because part of the value of having the services of a professional accountant is their
ability to exercise judgments based on ethical principles.
To impose onerous regulation would limit the ability of professionals to use their judgments and
reduce their value to the society in which they work.
And regulation, however detailed and prescriptive it may be, can never fully cover the infinite
variety and instances of potential conflict upon which professionals may be called to give advice.
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This is why we advocate that our profession, governments, regulators, and investors should focus
on supporting professional bodies such as ACCA in ensuring that there is a high level of
awareness and understanding on the principles that guide behaviour.
ACCA supports the idea of a principles-based ethical code, as it would provide a framework for
‘doing the right thing’.
It will be tempting for many to develop a code of conduct for their own organizations, but it is
important that these codes actually make a difference and can be seen to make a difference.
Since we have been looking at how to influence for the good – we also need to look at and tackle
what might encourage behaviour that leaves much to be desired.
The biggest pressure is on employees to be ‘successful’ - with success invariably being measured
in financial terms.
That may involve staff working in a culture where they are encouraged to do ‘whatever it takes’
to sell more products, win more customers and beat their competitors.
Business leaders – and Human Resources professionals must develop measures of ‘success’,
which are not based on financial performance – and instead look at creating rewards structures,
which promote ‘ethical’ behaviour.
Don’t answer this out loud – but how many business leaders here currently have the means or
the desire to reward an employee who may have lost your money by failing to win or retain
clients or contracts, but who has acted decently, and ethically throughout?
Their refusal to act improperly or to compromise the ethical values of the organization may have
a short term cost – but could well have much greater long term reputational and financial gains,
by having taken a decision that has steered the organization clear of allegations of dishonesty or
complicity in fraudulent behaviour, for example.
This is why business leaders have to champion ethics – why they must be seen to apply an ethical
code to all elements of their professional and private life. It really needs to be a case of ‘do as
we do’, not just ‘do as we say’ when it comes to ethics. The challenge for us is to demonstrate to
stakeholders just how successful organizations with a strong –and used - code of ethics are.
Companies should consider the business case behind having an ethical approach to work, and
maybe, just maybe, board and senior management should promote the idea that companies and
employees do the right thing just because it is the right thing to do.
And when it comes to doing the right thing, we are delighted and honoured to have with us the
Right Honourable Eriya Kategaya, the 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda, whom we know has
led from the front in instilling ethical behaviour. We salute his courage and that of the Ugandan
Government, which we thank for its support of ACCA and of this event.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen
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MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU)
Baliddawa is new ICPAU President
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda has elected Mr. Joseph B. Baliddawa as
the new President while the new Vice President is Mr. Narendra A. Thakkar.
Ethiopian Professional Association of Accountants and Auditors (EPAAA)
Awoke Gebresilassie Heads EPAAA
The Ethiopian Professional Association of Accountants and Auditors has elected Mr. Awoke
Gebresilassie as Board Chairman while the Vice Board Chairman is Mr. Kokeb Moges. Kokeb
is the ECSAFA contact person.
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (ICAZ)
ICAZ Elects Tawanda Gumbo as President
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe has elected Mr. Tawanda Gumbo as its
President. Mr. Nyasha Zhou is the Senior Vice-President.
Swaziland Institute of Accountants (SIA)
SIA Appoints New CEO
The Swaziland Institute of Accountants has appointed Mr. Barnabas Mhlongo as its Chief
Executive Officer.
MEMBERS NEWS
Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) Council fostering
deeper ties with Kenyan government
The ICPAK council, in its bid to developing stronger working relationships with the Government
and Parliament, has met key government and parliamentary representatives through a series of
meetings held during the period running from June to August 2007. These meetings have
involved in-depth discussions on how the Institute can work with various government ministries
in promoting accountability and good governance; safeguarding the accountancy profession
through ensuring high quality of persons within the profession and appointment of qualified
accountants as heads of accounting units.
The recent growth experienced in the financial sector in Kenya, has made it imperative to ensure
that the professionals charged with managing and steering the growth are not only qualified and
competent but also members of an Institute that ensures continuous professional development
(CPD) and has a code of ethics enforceable on all its members.
The implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the area of
Local government with a view to improving the quality of financial reporting in the local
government sector was elaborated on during the visit to Honorable Musikari Kombo, Minister
for Local Government. This implementation would also enable the sector to ensure
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accountability of collected funds and track the utilization of these funds in providing the required
services.
The need to strengthening the country’s financial management system was touched on during the
visit to Honourable Ole Kaparo, the Speaker of the Kenya National Assembly (Kenyan
Parliament) through readily availing the expertise found within the ICPAK membership. This
would further boost the impact of the yearly submissions made by the institute towards the
drafting of the National Budget.
The Institute has also been involved in the drafting of The Accountants Act bill, the statute that
governs it. This issue and the push for the draft amendments to be tabled in parliament and come
into law was revisited in the meeting held with Honourable Amos Kimunya, the Minister for
Finance and a former Institute Chairman.
It is hoped that fruitful working relationships will be established and that overall, issues of
financial management and reporting coupled with good governance will lead to better
accountability in the governmental sector.
The National Board Of Accountants And Auditors, Tanzania
Accountants’ Annual Seminar and Dinner
The National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA) will hold the “Accountants’ Annual
Seminar and Dinner” from 6th to 7th December 2007 at the White Sands Hotel, Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania. The theme of this year’s annual conference is “International Standards –
Implementation & Challenges”
Papers will be presented from various resource persons and participants will get an opportunity
to discuss on the problems and challenges on the implementation of the IFRSs, ISAs and IPSA.
The conference will be followed by annual dinner to be held on 7th December 2007.
Conference details and booking forms will be available on the NBAA website (www.nbaatz.org) in early October 2007. NBAA would like to invite all interested persons to attend this
important annual event.
NBAA Revised Syllabus:
The National Board of Accountants and Auditors has revised its syllabus, which will become
operational effective in the May 2008 examinations.
The revised syllabus has taken account of the International Education Standards Board’s
requirements, by enriching the contents and including subject areas that had not adequately been
covered under the current syllabus. Apart from enriching the contents, two additional subjects
have been added in the professional examination scheme namely Business Ethics and Corporate
Governance and Contemporary Issues in Accounting
In the Accounting Technician examination scheme, one additional subject has been added i.e.
Introduction to Information and Communication Technology, which is a vital subject for
accounting technician students.
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The Board will continue to maintain a two-tier examination scheme to cater for the Accounting
Technician examinations and the Professional examinations, which leads to the Certified Public
Accountant – CPA (T) qualification.
The Accounting Technician examination scheme will comprise two levels – Accounting
Technician Level I and II with four and five subjects to be examined in each level respectively.
The Professional Examination scheme will comprise three stages, where the Foundation stage
will comprise two modules of four subjects each; while the Intermediate and Final stages will
each comprise two modules of three subjects each. In this scheme a total of 20 subjects will be
examined.
The syllabi will be launched during the Board’s Graduation and Awards Ceremony to be held on
6th October 2007. The Prime Minister, Hon. Edward N. Lowassa will officiate the ceremony.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) Announce Training
Programme in Pakistan
ICAEW has announced a historic memorandum of understanding with the ICAP. The
agreement provides global opportunities and strengthens ties between both institutes.
The memorandum enables ICAP members to undertake advanced level tuition through a top-up
programme which allows them to become members of the ICAEW. In addition, it enables a sharing of
experience and the exchange of best practice across a range of disciplines on behalf of the respective
memberships. ICAP currently has 3,800 members across commerce and industry.
ICAP recognises that it is necessary to provide advanced accounting skills to its members to meet the
international demand for accountants both in Pakistan and internationally. ICAP and ICAEW have a
strong working relationship and it was because of this history, ICAP and ICAEW decided to enter into
the memorandum of understanding. The ICAEW is committed to working with accounting institutes
to share experience and develop best practice.
The memorandum of understanding was signed in Pakistan on Thursday 30th August.
ICAEW and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
define future relationship
Memorandum of Understanding sets out framework for a strategic partnership
The ICAEW and the CIPFA have signed a memorandum of understanding that sets out a framework
for a strategic partnership between the two bodies.
The strategic partnership between the CIPFA and ICAEW will see the institutes work together on a
series of joint initiatives and projects for the benefit of their respective memberships and students and
in order to fulfil and deliver their public interest obligations.
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Both bodies already work closely together on a number of joint initiatives. The ICAEW’s Public
Sector Group utilises resources provided by CIPFA including Public Finance magazine as well as
access to online technical information.
The ICAEW is currently helping CIPFA to develop a new Practice Assurance Scheme and is also
supporting a CIPFA-led scenario planning project to examine the pressures and challenges which the
public services are likely to face over the next twenty years.
Initiatives in the pipeline include joint policy representations on professional and technical matters
where there is scope to make common cause.
The relationship will be led by a newly created partnership board. The institutes will also exchange
observers on their respective councils and boards and be able to nominate representatives to join
selected committees.
More information is available on the ICAEW website at www.icaew.com
Enquiries:
Ellen Bisnath, Manager Countries and Markets, International Affairs, ICAEW
T: +44 (0) 20 7920 8511
E: ellen.bisnath@icaew.com
MEMBERS CONFERENCES
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (ICAZ) holds it Winter
School
ICAZ held its Winter School from 19 to 22 July 2007 under the Theme “If the Foundations Be
Destroyed – What Next”. The Winter School took a frank and critical look at the economic and
political situation in Zimbabwe as it affects the business and professional environment. It also
looked at the way forward. The ECSAFA CEO attended the Winter School. He challenged the
ICAZ members to take full control of the destiny of ECSAFA by ensuring that adequate funding
was available for ECSAFA to implement its Strategy. His attendance was fully funded by
ICAZ.
Eastern Africa ACCA Convention, 2007
Close to 650 ACCA members and other accountants from Eastern Africa attended the second
Eastern Africa ACCA Convention in Kampala, Uganda. This event was presided over by ACCA
President, Gill Ball and attended by ACCA’s CEO Allen Blewitt and 3 ACCA Council members.
The delegates hailed from 10 countries –Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan, the UK,
Rwanda, Eritrea, Malawi and the USA. The first in these series of events was held in Nairobi,
Kenya in December 2005.
The event which was held under the theme; “Balancing organizational success with ethical
practice”, in July 2007 was addressed by a very impressive line-up of influential speakers. These
included the Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda, the Rt. Hon. Eriya Kategaya, the Minister of
State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Professor Semakula Kiwanuka, one of
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America’s leading experts on governance, ethics and accountability and Inspector General of
New Orleans, Professor Robert Cerasoli, among others.
ACCA Conventions in Eastern Africa are aimed at
o Enabling the sharing of professional knowledge and best practice amongst professional
accountants and other finance professionals;
o Providing a forum for accountants to discuss and develop solutions to development
challenges facing business, the profession and the society at large;
o Facilitating gainful business links and interaction between professional accountants and
business entities across the region.
o Providing a platform for contributing to and influencing policy debates in the profession,
in business and in society as a whole.
The 2007 Convention dealt with the key question - how can professionals be good at business
and still be good? It was clear at the end of the event that every professional not only needs a
moral compass – but also moral courage, to be able to weather ethical and moral storms. The
event served to bring back ethics into the mainstream of professional dialogue and to highlight
the role and responsibility that accountants have in the fight against unethical practices in
society. It helped participants to renew their individual and collective commitments to ethical
conduct in the workplace.
IFAC MATTERS
Proposed Revisions to Regional Organization and Other Grouping Policy
Statement
Compliance Advisory Panel and the IFAC staff have been reviewing the existing policy statement for
Regional Organizations and Regional Groupings. The CAP has approved a proposed revision for
consultation purposes. The primary objectives of the revision were to:
1. better align the strategies and activities of IFAC and its regional and other partners
2. update the policy to reflect the changes in the environment since 2000 when the last
policy was issued, and
3. clearly articulate the mutual accountabilities between IFAC and its regional and other
partners.
One of the other changes is the proposal to drop the reference to “regional” with respect to “other
groupings”. This is being proposed as it was felt that other groupings have formed and may form
in the future around the commonalities – not just regional proximity. In this sense, the CAP and
staff agreed that greater flexibility in this respect was appropriate.
The policy statement seeks to make a provision for de-recognition to a regional organization that
fails to meet its obligation to IFAC.
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IFAC Declares December 2 – 8 2007 “World Accountancy Week”
In the ECSAFA News issued in April 2007 we announced to members that IFAC had declared December
2 – 8 2007 as “World Accountancy Week”. We urged member bodies to organize high-profile national
events to mark this week. Has your member body made any progress in this regard????
TECHNICAL MATTERS
ECSAFA Standard-Setters Workshop
The 5th ECSAFA Standard-setters Workshop will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe on 28 September
2007. The workshop objective will be to provide an opportunity for standard-setters to share
recent technical developments, discuss a Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes
(ROSC) – accounting and auditing assessment - conducted by the World Bank, finalize the
ECSAFA comment letter on International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium
Sized Entities (IFRS for SME), and note the progress made in the implementation of public
sector accounting standards in the region. We encourage you or a member of your technical
committee to participate. If you require a copy of the programme and invitation, submit your
request to the ECSAFA Secretariat.
Auditing
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), in its meeting in July
2007, approved exposure drafts of nine proposed International Standards of Auditing (ISAs),
including each of its international quality control and auditor reporting standards. These have all
been redrafted in accordance with the IAASB's new drafting conventions designed to improve
the clarity of its pronouncements.
The proposed standards include:
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
International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) 1 (Redrafted) − Quality Control for Firms
that Perform Audits and Reviews of Financial Statements, and Other Assurance and Related
Services Engagements,
ISA 220 (Redrafted) − Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements,
ISA 510 (Redrafted) − Initial Audit Engagements - Opening Balances,
ISA 530 (Redrafted) − Audit Sampling.
ISA 700 (Redrafted) − The Independent Auditor's Report on General Purpose Financial
Statements;
ISA 705 (Revised and Redrafted) − Modifications to the Opinion in the Independent
Auditor's Report;
ISA 706 (Revised and Redrafted) − Emphasis of Matter Paragraphs and Other Matter(s)
Paragraphs in the Independent Auditor's Report;
ISA 800 (Revised and Redrafted) − Special Considerations − Audits of Special Purpose
Financial Statements and Specific Elements, Accounts or Items of a Financial Statement; and
ISA 805 (Revised and Redrafted) − Engagements to Report on Summary Financial
Statements.
We encourage members who have adopted ISAs to comment on the proposed standards which
are available on the IFAC website.
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Accounting
We continue to encourage members who have adopted International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) to refer to the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) website,
particularly the “IASB Update” which is issued monthly, in order to obtain information relating
to recent developments (www.iasb.org.uk)
In addition, we encourage you to provide comments on the proposed standard on IFRS for SME
referred to in the previous Newsletter and also consider participating in field-testing it.
Comments are requested by 1 October 2007. To assist with field-testing, IASB has released a
field test kit. The standard and the kit are available at IASB website.
Public Sector
The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) develops International
Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs). The IPSASs, exposure drafts and the IPSASB’s
work programme are available on the IFAC website.
IPSASB has issued ED 33 Amendments to IPSAS 4 – The Effect of Changes in Foreign
Exchange Rates. The ED proposed updates to IPSAS 4 to reflect, as appropriate for the public
sector, the latest revisions to the corresponding IFRS. Key proposals in ED 33 reflect
amendments made by the IASB to International Accounting Standard 21 – The Effects of
Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates. Comments on the ED are requested by 31 December 2007.
Ethics
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has issued the following
exposure drafts:
Proposed Revised Section 290 of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants,
Independence - Audit and Review Engagements, and Proposed Section 291, Independence Other Assurance Engagements
The exposure draft (ED) proposes to strengthen three components of the independence
requirements contained in the IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (Code). The
components in provision of internal audit services to an audit client; Independence implications
related to the relative size of fees received from one assurance client; and Contingent fees for
services provided to assurance clients. Comments on the ED are requested by 15 October 2007.
Comments on Proposed Strategic Plan
IESBA is seeking comment on an exposure draft of its Strategic and Operational Plan for the
period 2008-2009. The plan outlines the initiatives that IESBA will be involved in to serve the
public interest by setting high quality ethical standards for professional accountants and by
facilitating the convergence of international and national ethical standards, thereby enhancing the
quality and consistency of services provided by professional accountants.
Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB)
Control From a Risk-Based Perspective and the Role of Accountants in Business
PAIB has released a new publication Internal Control from a Risk-Based Perspective. The
publication features interviews on experiences and views on establishing effective internal
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control systems. The interviews help to demonstrate the importance of a risk-based approach to
internal control in helping an organization manage its overall risk. They also shed light on the
nature of risk in organizations, how to establish an internal control system focused on driving
performance and supporting the delivery of strategic objectives, and success stories that can help
organizations in considering improvements to their approach. The publication is available in
IFAC website.
Small and Medium Accounting Practices (SMPs)
Proposals to Develop Practice Management Guide for Small and Medium Accounting
Firms
IFAC is requesting proposals for the development of a practice management guide for use by
SMPs. The purpose of the guide will be to assist SMPs in managing their practices in an
efficient, profitable and professional manner. It is intended that the guide will cover a range of
topics, such as strategic planning, management structure, client relationships, managing finances
and risk, partnership issues, networking, and succession planning. The specifications for the
Request for Proposal: Development of a Practice Management Guide for Use by Small and
Medium Practices are available on the IFAC website.
MEMBER TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS
South Africa
APB approves issue of Statement of GAAP for Small and Medium-sized Entities
The South Africa Accounting Practices Board (APB) has approved for issue of a South African
Statement of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice for Small and Medium-sized Entities
(SMEs).
The statement will apply to ‘limited interest' companies as defined in the Corporate Laws
Amendment Act, 2006 (CLAA); an Act that has been promulgated into law, though the effective
date has not been announced. It has been issued based on IFRS for SMEs without any change to
the original text. The statement has been issued after a process where SAICA requested
respondents to comment on the proposal to adopt IFRS for SMEs in South Africa in its exposure
draft form as a transitional standard for `limited interest' companies until the Financial Reporting
Standards Council, required by CLAA, is established and develops accounting standards for such
companies. Most respondents supported the proposed process. The statement is expected to be
effective upon issue.
Technical Assistance
ECSAFA provides a technical query service to member bodies. Member bodies with queries
must channel them to the ECSAFA Secretariat, ecsafa@africaonline.co.ke
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FUTURE MEETINGS
ECSAFA EXCOM and Council Meetings
The next scheduled ECSAFA meetings are as follows: Dates of Meetings
Type of Meeting
Host Member Body & Country
2008 – 1st Half
EXCOM/Council/AGM
ACCA, Mauritius /MIPA
2008 – 2nd Half
EXCOM/Council
NBAA in Tanzania
2009 – 1st Half
EXCOM/Council/AGM
LIA in Lesotho
2009 – 2nd Half
EXCOM/Council/ECSAFA 8th
Congress and 20th Anniversary
Celebrations
SAICA in South Africa
Nairobi, September 2007
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