What the World Will Be Watching

With respect to accountants in business and industry, respondents to IFAC’s first annual Global Leadership Survey labeled several issues as “very important” over the next year, including:

Applying new accounting standards (56%)

Adopting good practice in internal control and risk management (50%)

Perceptions of accountants’ integrity by the public and regulators (47%)

Increasing complexity of financial reporting (46%)

Adopting good practice in corporate governance (43%)

“Investor confidence in the profession is vital to the profession’s ability to contribute to the optimal functioning of capital markets and, consequently, to economic development,” said IFAC President Fermín del Valle.

A total of 143 presidents and chief executives of 115 IFAC member bodies and associates in 91 countries, as well as six regional accountancy bodies, participated in the survey, which is available at www.ifac.org.

Source: IFAC’s 2007 Global Leadership Survey.