A membership agreement between CIMA and CPA Australia has been renewed for another four years.
The agreement, according to a news release, allows members of each professional accounting body to concurrently become members of the other body and adopt, subject to criteria, the relevant professional designation.
First signed in 2008, the Membership Pathway Agreement (MPA) has expanded new employment opportunities for members and given employers across the world access to a wider pool of accounting and finance talent, the release said.
CIMA members can join CPA Australia, subject to completing the CPA Australia Better Practice in Governance and Accountability course. CPA Australia members can join CIMA, subject to passing CIMA’s CGMA Professional Qualification Strategic Case Study Exam.
IASB project looks to improve climate-related reporting
The IASB has decided to explore targeted actions to improve financial statement reporting of climate-related topics and “other uncertainties”. The IASB’s technical staff will work closely with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) technical staff to facilitate connections in the boards’ work, a news release said.
Possible actions include development of educational materials, illustrative examples, and targeted amendments to IFRS accounting standards to improve application of existing requirements, the release said.
The ISSB recently asked stakeholders for feedback on its priorities for the next two years. Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, CEO of AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, showed support for the ISSB’s efforts in a statement released last month: “We believe that the ISSB’s priority should be to provide organisations with tools, resources, and supporting materials needed to adopt S1 and S2 and embed these standards into their business models.”
IFAC report focuses on ESG reporting, assurance in ‘beyond G20’ nations
A new report, The State of Play: Beyond the G20, expands the scope of the “State of Play” series on sustainability reporting trends presented annually by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.
The new IFAC report reveals levels of reporting similar to the G20, based on 2019–21 data for Switzerland, six smaller-sized economies within the European Economic Area (Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden), as well as jurisdictions in the “Global South” – three in Latin America, six in Africa and Middle East, and four in the Asia-Pacific region.
“When viewed in full, the State of Play series of reports now provide data on the current market practices of nearly 2,000 of the largest stock exchange-listed companies across 42 jurisdictions,” IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey said in a news release. “This broader lens on disclosure and assurance makes it even more clear that we are still in the early stages of the journey to provide investors and other stakeholders with consistent, comparable, decision-useful, and assured sustainability information that is as reliable as financial information.”
Among “beyond G20” companies, 89% reported some ESG information in 2021; 48% obtained some level of assurance; and 62% of assurance engagements were conducted by audit firms. The G20 report released in February found that 95% of companies reported some ESG information in 2021, while 64% obtained some level of assurance, and 57% of assurance engagements were conducted by audit firms.
IESBA announces update to its ethics code
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) made two revisions in releasing its 2023 handbook for the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants.
The two revision topics updated from the 2022 edition, according to a news release, are:
- The revisions relating to (a) the definition of engagement team, and (b) group audits. The revisions deal with the independence and other implications of the changes made to the definition of engagement team to align with changes to the definition of the same term in the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB’s) International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and International Standards on Quality Management (ISQMs). The revisions address independence considerations in an audit of group financial statements. These revisions will be effective for audits of financial statements and audits of group financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 December. Early adoption of the revisions is encouraged.
- The upcoming expiry of the “jurisdictional provision” addressing long association of personnel with an audit client. The jurisdictional provision will expire and be no longer available for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 December. Under the jurisdictional provision (paragraph R540.20), where a legislative or regulatory body (or organisation authorised or recognised by such legislative or regulatory body) has established a cooling-off period for an engagement partner of less than five consecutive years, that shorter cooling-off period may be applied, subject to a floor of three years, provided that the applicable time-on period does not exceed seven years.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.
