IFAC invites comment on seven SMOs including one on IFRS

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04 Aug 2003

The International Federation of Accountants is seeking comments on seven proposed Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs) (PDF 59k), including one that sets out the obligations of IFAC's member bodies with respect to International Financial Reporting Standards.

The IFRS SMO is as follows:

Member bodies of IFAC should support the work of the IASB by bringing to the notice of their members every IFRS and by using their best endeavors:

  • (i) To persuade governments and standard setting bodies that published private sector financial statements should comply with IFRSs;
  • (ii) To persuade authorities controlling securities markets and the industrial and business community that published private sector financial statements should comply with IFRSs and disclose the fact of such compliance;
  • (iii) To foster acceptance of IFRSs internationally; and
  • (iv) To monitor compliance with IFRS by reviewing financial statements purporting to comply with IFRS to the extent that such engagements are included in the scope of the quality assurance review program established by Statement of Membership Obligation 1 - Quality Assurance.
The SMOs will be the foundation of IFAC's new compliance programme. Each of IFAC's 155 member bodies will be required to report on the extent to which they are complying with each of the SMOs. In areas where they are not complying, member bodies will be asked to develop actions plan outlining how and when they plan to meet their compliance responsibilities. The effective dates for the SMOs will vary, with those relating to professional standards having a proposed effective date of March 31, 2004. IFAC will make the results of its compliance programme public. The other six draft SMOs deal with:
  • Quality Assurance
  • Auditing Standards and other International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) pronouncements
  • Ethics Standards
  • Education Standards
  • Public Sector Accounting Standards
  • Investigation and Discipline

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