Working to advance accounting education programs worldwide, particularly in areas where it will assist economic development, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) develops International Education Standards that address pre-qualification education of professional accountants and continuing professional development for members of the accountancy profession. IFAC’s Education Committee recently released exposure drafts of seven standards and one guideline and invites public comments on these documents as early as possible, with a final deadline for receipt of comments Dec. 31, 2002.

The overall goal of the proposed standards is to produce competent professional accountants. “The global profession is moving steadily towards a common base of standards in accounting, auditing, public sector accounting, and ethics, and is ‘raising the bar’ in the quality and consistent application of procedures around the world. The acceptance of the need to harmonize technical and practice standards globally has never been more pronounced,” states Warren Allen, chairman of IFAC’s Education Committee. “However, the global profession will not properly achieve this higher application of standards without a set of robust and codified education standards. Education must be the starting point.”

For this reason, IFAC’s Education Committee has worked aggressively on the development of the following exposure drafts:

• Introduction to International Education Standards for Professional Accountants
• Proposed International Education Guideline for Professional Accountants

The proposed International Education Standards for Professional Accountants include:

• Entry Requirements that prescribe requirements for candidates beginning the qualifying process for becoming a professional accountant.
• Content of Professional Education Programs that prescribe the professional education required to qualify as a professional accountant.
• Professional Skills and General Education prescribes the personal and professional skills candidates must have to qualify as professional accountants.
• Professional Values and Ethics prescribe the professional values and ethics that professional accountants need to acquire during their programs of education and practical experience.
• Experience Requirements prescribe the practical experience and training IFAC member bodies should require their members to obtain to qualify as professional accountants.
• Assessment of Professional Competence prescribes the requirement for a process of assessment of a candidate’s professional competence before admission to the profession.
• Continuing Professional Education and Development prescribes that member bodies establish a continuing professional education and development (or CPD) requirement for all accountants. This is an important aspect of serving the public interest and fosters values of continuous learning and greater professional competence among professional accountants so as to better meet client and employer needs.

The proposed International Education Guideline for Professional Accountants is:

• Continuing Professional Education and Development, which provides guidance to assist member bodies in establishing a requirement for an effective program of continuing professional education and development (or CPD) for members, as prescribed in the proposed International Education Standard Continuing Professional Education and Development.

“We strongly encourage IFAC’s member organizations, accounting academics, and other interested parties to review and carefully consider the proposed standards and guideline and offer comment. IFAC member bodies will be expected to comply with these standards by Jan. 2005. Feedback on these documents is extremely important, and will shape the final standards,” emphasizes Mr. Allen. “We encourage early comment on these documents. Comments received by Oct. 15 will be reviewed by the committee at its meeting in Nov. 2002. Comments received after that date will be considered by the committee in Mar. 2003.”

The AICPA’s Pre-Certification Executive Education Committee is submitting a response to the exposure drafts. The exposure drafts may be downloaded from the IFAC Web site:

www.ifac.org/Guidance/EXD-Outstanding.tmpl

Comments may be sent to:

EDComments@ifac.org

212/286–9570