FINAL
MINUTES OF
THE INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING EDUCATION STANDARDS BOARD PUBLIC TELECONFERENCE MEETING HELD FEBRUARY3, 2017.
VENUE:TeleconferenceMeeting No. 1/17 (87)
PRESENT:
Voting Members: Technical Advisors:
United KingdomChris Austin (Chair)Adrian Pulham
LebanonRania Mardini
MexicoBlanca Tapia
South KoreaYeong Kyun Ahn
Sri LankaManil Jayesinghe
United KingdomRachel Banfield
United StatesBruce BehnSteve Matzke
United StatesBrian McGuire
TACGreg OwensSarah Jakubowski
TACDavid SimkoSusan Flis
TACGareth Wellings
TACAnne-Marie VitaleJill Pate
Public Member Yoshinori KawamuraShinji Takada
Public Member Bernard Agulhas
Public MemberIsaac NjugunaEdwin Makori
Observer:
PIOB RepresentativeAileen Pierce
IAESB Staff:
Managing Director, Professional StandardsJames Gunn
PrincipalDavid McPeak
Administrative AssistantSonia Tavares
APOLOGIES:
Indonesia, MemberSidharta Utama
United Kingdom, MemberElizabeth Gammie
United States, MemberSusan St. Amant
Indonesia, Technical AdvisorLindawati Gani
Mexico, Technical AdvisorSylvia Meljem
South Africa, Technical AdvisorRobert Zwane
South Korea, Technical AdvisorSeung Kyoung Yoo
United Kingdom, Technical AdvisorSuzie Webb
United States, Technical AdvisorDanielSlezak
United States, Technical AdvisorRaef Lawson
CAG ChairKeith Bowman
IAAER ObserverKeryn Chalmers
UNCTAD ObserverYoseph Asmelash
CURRENT PROJECTS
1.IAESB 2017-21 STRATEGYAND 2017-2018 WORK PLAN
Mr. Chris Austin, IAESB Chair, welcomed IAESB members and technical advisors to the teleconference meeting. He alsoextended a special welcome to Professor Bruce Behn (USA), Ms. Rania Mardini (Lebanon), Mr. Steve Matzke (technical advisor to Professor Behn), and Dr. Aileen Pierce (PIOB representative).
Apologies were received from Dr. Elizabeth Gammie (United Kingdom), Dr. Sidharta Utama (Indonesia), Ms. Susan St. Amant (USA), Ms. SeungKyoungYoo(Technical advisor to Mr. YeongKyunAhn), Ms. LindawatiGani (Technical advisor toDr. Sidharta Utama), Ms. Sylvia Meljem (Technical Advisor to Dr. Blanca Tapia), Ms. Suzie Webb (Technical Advisor to Dr. Rachel Banfield), Dr. Raef Lawson (Technical Advisor to Dr. Brian McGuire), Mr. Daniel Slezak (Technical Advisor to Ms. Susan St. Amant), Mr. Robert Zwane (Technical Advisor to Mr. Bernard Agulhas), Mr. Keith Bowman (IAESB CAG Chair), Dr. Keryn Chalmers (IAAER Observer), and Mr. YosephAsmelash (UNCTAD Observer).
Mr. Austin introduced the agenda item by indicating that the PIOB decided at its December 2016 meeting to defer its decision on approving the IAESB 2017-2021 Strategy and 2017-2018 Work Plan (SWP) for the following reasons:
- Need further details on specific activities within the Work Plan, including their timeline and outcomes;
- Explain how emerging educational issues relating to advances in Information and Communications Technology, Big Data Analyses, Data Analytics, and Public Sector Accounting, Reporting and Assurance would be included in the 4-pillar Strategy description;
- Explain within the Work Plan whether there will be a need for resources to accomplish the Board’s SWP.
Mr. Austin indicated that the purpose of this teleconference meeting was to enable IAESB members to ask questions or comment on the document and then to indicate whether they supported the revised version of the SWP which would be submitted to the PIOB for approval at its February 7-8, 2017meeting.
Mr. Austin reporting the following activities had occurred on amending the SWP document since the last November 2016 Board Meeting
- December 8: IAESB Steering Committee Teleconference;
- December 16: IAESB and PIOB Leadership Teleconference;
- December-January: Steering Committee Work Group Review of PIOB comments and SWP package;
- December-January: DWG Review of SWP package;
- January 13: IAESB Steering Committee Teleconference;
- January 20: IAESB and PIOB Leadership Teleconference; and
- January 31: IAESB CAG review of amended SWP package.
The Chair indicated that he addressed the issue on whether additional resources will be needed to complete the SWP at the December PIOB meeting by reiterating the view of the Steering Committee that the contributions of Board members, technical advisors, and staff should meet the immediate resourcing needs. Once further information is obtained from project proposals, the IAESB will re-evaluate its position and address any resourcing issues through the normal IFAC budgetary process.
Mr. Austin indicated that the Steering Committee’s view that amendments to the SWP were not substantive in nature, but provided additional clarification to the document approved by the Board at its November 2016 meeting. He re-iterated that the substantive content of the following 4-Pillar Strategy had not changed: Standards Development; Implementation Support; Post Effective Date Implementation Review; and Stakeholder Engagement and Communication.
Ms. Anne-Marie Vitale (Deputy Chair) indicated how the Work Plan was amended:
- Disposing of DWG’s suggestions on formatting and on providing a consistent description of new and proposed projects;
- Adding new material to describe an initiative to investigate the educational needs of professional accountants working in financial institutions, including the need to gather information and informthe IAESB on making a decision on a proposed way forward to address this area;
- Including additional clarification on the structuring of resources and how the Board will address the resourcing of both ongoing and newprojects when information becomes available through project proposals.
The following summarizes the Board’s discussion.
IAESB Discussion of Issues
2017-2021 Strategy and 2017-2018 Work Plan
In general, IAESB members supported the Steering Committee’s proposed amendments to the 2017-2021 Strategy and 2017-2018 Work Plan document, but provided the following observations:
- Monitor outcomes of the work program against the following markers to determine progress: meet the competence needs of future professional accountants and auditors, develop the area of behavioral competence to improve the application of professional skepticism and professional judgment, and widen the scope of the IESs to cover the area of assurance engagements;
- Clarify the timeline for the initiative on information gathering relating to the education needs of professional accountants working in financial institutions and determine whether there might be an overlap in the scope of activities expected from the ICT project;
- Accelerate the timing of the project on the post-implementation date review so as to inform Board’s activities on implementation support; and
- Recognize that the need for transparency in financial reporting is not only important for financial institutions in the private sector, but also for those in the public sector;
Several members commented that the amendments to the Work Plan were responsive, inclusive, effectively addressed the PIOB comments and served the public interest. It was pointed out that time must be given to IFAC member bodies and PAOs to implement the revised IESs before any further revisions should be made to the standards.
2.PIOB REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT
Dr. Aileen Pierce, PIOB representative, indicated that the PIOB’s statement resulting from its December 2016 meeting to defer its decision on the SWP was because it felt the direction of the document was unclear and not convincing enough. She acknowledged the great care and efforts of the Steering Committee and DWG over the last six weeks to address the PIOB comments and to improve the clarity of the document. Dr. Pierce, said that this work was evidence of the commitment of Board members to improve the quality of professional accounting education.
Dr. Pierce continued to express concern over the resourcing of the workplan given that there are limits to the amount of time and effort that volunteers can contribute. More specifically, she indicated a concern on how and when these resources can be obtained so as to ensure effective implementation of an already ambitious work plan.
Dr. Pierce concluded by thanking Board members for their input and indicated that she looked forward to the PIOB’s deliberation of the SWP at its February meeting.
Mr. Austin thanked Dr. Pierce for her comments and her contributions to the IAESB’s deliberations.
3.TERMINATION OF MEETING
Mr. Austinindicated that there was unanimous support of Board members for the proposed amendments to the SWP. Mr. Austin suggested that the efforts to review the PIOB concerns has reinforced the view that the Board’s direction is appropriate for the 2017-2021 Strategy.He flagged that the Work Plan has included opportunities for the Board to evaluate its resourcing through its reviews of the project proposals.
Mr. Austin indicated that there would be no further content changes made to the SWP document for next week’s PIOB meeting, but that Board members’editorial suggestions will be considered in finalizing the document for publication. He indicated that the IFAC Board will meet on March 2 and 3. Mr. Gunn will be attending this meeting and he will provide an update on the meeting at the next Steering Committee meeting.
Finally, also thanked everyone for their contributions to the teleconference meeting.
The meeting closed on Friday, (February3rd, 2017) at 10:00 hours.
Approved by Chairman: ………………………………………
Date: …………………………………………………………..
ACTION LIST – AS A RESULT OF FEBRUARY 2017 IAESB TELECONFERENCE MEETING
ACTION / PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE / DUE DATE / STATUS- Prepare Final versions for the 2017-2021 Strategy and 2017-2018 Work Plan
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