Framework for International Education Standards for Professional Accountants

1. Framework for International Education Standards for Professional Accountants Framework Support Material Prepared by IAESB Staff January 2010

2. Introduction Framework • Establishes concepts used in IAESB publications • Provides an introduction to IAESB pronouncements & IFAC member body obligations

3. Introduction Accountancy Profession Serves • Financial information needs; and • Non-financial information needs of decision makers

4. Introduction Decision Makers Include: • Present and potential investors and creditors; • Managers and employees within organizations; • Suppliers; • Customers; • Governments and their agencies; and • Public.

5. Introduction Ability of Accountancy Profession to Satisfy • Users’ information needs contributes to an efficient economy, creating value to society.

6. Introduction IAESB’sMission is to “serve the public interest by strengthening the worldwide accountancy profession through the development and enhancement of education.”

7. Introduction The IAESB achieves its mission primarily by: - Developing and publishing IESs; and - Promoting the use of those standards through IFAC member bodies.

8. Introduction Enhancing Education by Implementing IESs • Serves the public interest by contributing to the ability of the accountancy profession to meet the needs of decision makers. • Increases the competence of the global accountancy profession, contributing to strengthened public trust.

9. Introduction Other Desirable Outcomes of Developing and Implementing IESs Include: • Reduction in international differences in the requirements to qualify and work as a professional accountant; • Facilitation of the global mobility of professional accountants; and • Provision of international benchmarks against which IFAC member bodies can measure themselves.

10. Purpose of Framework The Framework Is Intended To: • Assist IFAC member bodies, as they have direct or indirect responsibility for the education and development of their members and students; and • Enhance the understanding of the work of the IAESB

11. Purpose of Framework IAESB Stakeholders Include: • IFAC Member Bodies; • Universities, employers, and other stakeholders who in accounting education programs; • Regulators; • Government authorities; • Accountants and prospective accountants; and • Any other parties interested in the work of the IAESB.

12. Purpose of Framework Intended Benefits of the Framework Include • Consistency in Development of IESs ; • More efficient and effective standard-setting process; and • Increased transparency and accountability of the IAESB for its decisions.

13. Authority & Scope of the Framework Definition of a Professional Accountant is • an individual who is a member of an IFAC member body Members of IFAC member bodies work in: • Every sector of the economy; and • Many different areas of accountancy (e.g., including auditing, financial accounting, management accounting, and tax accounting).

14. Authority & Scope of the Framework The IAESB • Establishes the learning and development principles for the education of professional accountants; and • May establish requirements for roles that are widely practiced or are of specific public interest internationally

15. Authority & Scope of the Framework Concepts of Framework Are Applied When • IAESB develops IESs; • IFAC member bodies and other interested parties design, deliver, and assess education for professional accountants, in the absence of a specific IES.

16. Structure of the Framework Part One: Educational Concepts • Competence • Initial Professional Development • Continuing Professional Development • Assessment. Part Two: Publications & IFAC Member Body Obligations • Nature of IESs & Related Publications • IFAC Member Body Obligations

17. Educational Concepts Objective of Accounting Education Is - To develop competent professional accountants.

18. Educational Concepts Competence is The ability to perform a work role to a defined standard with reference to working environments. • A professional accountant must possess the necessary a) Professional knowledge, b) Professional skills, and c) Professional values, ethics, and attitudes.

19. Educational Concepts Competence • Emphasizes performance to an expected standards, and • Requires an appropriate level of knowledge, skills, values, ethics, and attitudes to achieve that competence.

20. Educational Concepts Level of Competence Will Vary Depending On: • Complexity of the environment, • Complexity of tasks, the variety of tasks, required specialist knowledge, • Influence on the work of others, • Reliance on the work of others, • Level of autonomy, and • Required level of judgment.

21. Educational Concepts Primary Types of Learning & Development Include : • Education • Practical Experience • Training

22. Educational Concepts Other Activities Included in Learning & Development Are: • Coaching, • Networking, • Observation, • Reflection, and • Self-directed and unstructured gaining of knowledge.

23. Educational Concepts Learning & Development Is • An ongoing process of acquiring, maintaining, and renewing competence at an appropriate level throughout a professional accountant’s career • Lifelong learning

24. Educational Concepts Initial Professional Development is • Learning and development through which individuals first develop competence leading to performing a role in the accountancy profession.

25. Educational Concepts Initial Professional Development Includes • General education • Professional accounting education • Practical experience • Assessment

26. Educational Concepts Initial Professional Development • Continues until individuals can demonstrate the competence required for their chosen roles • Is linked with the point of qualification (or licensing) as specified by an IFAC member body.

27. Educational Concepts Initial Professional Development • Goes beyond knowledge of principles, standards, concepts, facts, and procedures • It includes the ability to integrate • Professional knowledge, • Professional skills, and • Professional values, ethics, and attitudes. • Enables individuals to identify issues, know what knowledge is relevant, and know how to apply that knowledge and professional judgment to resolve issues ethically.

28. Educational Concepts Continuing Professional Development • Enables learning and development that maintains and develops capabilities to enable professional accountants to perform their roles competently. • Provides continual development of the • Professional knowledge, • Professional skills, • Professional values, ethics and attitudes, and • Competence achieved during IPD.

29. Educational Concepts Continuing Professional Development • Enables professional accountants during their careers to • Change and expand the scope of their competence, • Develop their expertise, and • Improve and renew their competence.

30. Educational Concepts Continuing Professional Development • Enables professional accountants to • maintain and develop new and/or more specialized knowledge and skills • take on new roles. • Includes many of the same elements as IPD but at a level that enables additional breadth and/or depth

31. Educational Concepts The Measurement Approaches to Assess Effectiveness of Learning and Development Include • Input–based • Process–based • Output–based

32. Educational Concepts 3 Measurement Approaches: • Input measures • Focus on the investment made in learning and development and served as proxies for measuring the development of competence. • Process measures • Focus on the design and delivery of learning and development and serve as proxies for the competence developed.

33. Educational Concepts 3 Measurement Approaches (continued): • Output measures • Focus on whether the professional accountant has developed the specified competence.

34. Educational Concepts Choice of Measurement Approach Is • Dependant on following characteristics: • Validity – whether it measures what needs to be measured; • Reliability – whether it consistently produces the same result, given the same set of circumstances; and • Cost effectiveness – whether the benefits outweigh the costs of measurement.

35. Educational Concepts Output Measures Are • rated as highly valid; • not considered cost-effective; • are closely linked with the objective of accounting education – the development of competence; • Require a inherent compromise between validity, reliability, and cost effectiveness - a mix of input, process, and output measures is often adopted.

36. Publications & Obligations IAESB Publications Include: • International Education Standards (IESs) • International Education Practice Statements (IEPSs) • International Education Information Papers (IEIPs) • Additional Support Material

37. Publications & Obligations International Education Standards • Establish standards for IFAC member bodies for both IPD and CPD. • Address the principles of learning and development • Prescribe good practice in learning and development • Establish educational requirements for IFAC member bodies.

38. Publications & Obligations IFAC Member Bodies • May choose to emphasize one type of learning and development over another. • Need to determine how best to implement the requirements of the IESs. • May adopt learning and development requirements that go beyond the IESs.

39. Publications & Obligations International Education Practice Statements • Assist in implementing generally accepted good practice in learning and development • Interpret, illustrate, or expand on matters related to IESs. • Include commendable methods or best practices

40. Publications & Obligations International Education Information Papers • May critically assess emerging learning and development issues and practices. • May simply be descriptive in nature.

41. Publications & Obligations Additional Support Material Includes • Toolkits; and • Interpretation guidance

42. Publications & Obligations IFAC Members Are Encouraged to Meet • obligations in accounting education as identified in Statement of Membership Obligation (SMO) #2, International Education Standards for Professional Accountants and Other IAESB Guidance, on the IFAC website.

43. Publications & Obligations IFAC Member Bodies • determine the competences and criteria for membership that are appropriate to the professional accountancy roles their members undertake. • are subject to the requirements of law or regulation within their jurisdictions.

44. Publications & Obligations IFAC Recognizes That • IESs cannot legally override educational requirements or restrictions placed on individual IFAC member bodies by such laws or regulations. • where IESs set a higher requirement than laws or regulations, the IFAC member body should use its best endeavors to persuade those responsible to incorporate the essential elements of IESs into those laws or regulations.

45. IAESB Drafting Conventions Language Provisions Recognize That • The sole approved text of IAESB publications is in the English language. • Wording will be guided by the IAESB Drafting Conventions. • Definitions are now found in the IAESB Glossary of terms • Definitions are not intended to override definitions of other documents that may be established for other purposes, whether in law, regulation or otherwise.

46. IAESB Drafting Conventions Structure of IESs Includes • Introduction • Objectives • Requirements • Explanatory Material

47. Information Sources of Information • IFAC’s web site – www.ifac.org – provides access to all standards and a wide range of free guidance for the world’s accountants • The public interest activity committees of IFAC (IAASB, IAESB and IESBA) post agenda papers prior to meetings on web site • IAESB pronouncements available at: www.ifac.org/Education/Pronouncements.php THANK YOU