Calls for G20 to adopt global standards

The profession’s global representative is calling on the leaders of the G20 to adopt uniform accounting, auditing, and auditor independence standards to improve transparency and the ability of capital markets to work globally.

The International Federation of Accountants wants the 20 most powerful industrial nations to use next month’s meeting in Pittsburg to encourage adoption of global standards and improve transparency in light of ‘unprecedented takeovers, lending, guarantees, and bailouts of major market institutions, banks and companies’.

In a letter to the G20, IFAC also demanded steps be taken to ensure that the International Accounting Standards Board can act without political interference.

‘The G20 leaders must act quickly to build a reformed international financial system,’ said IFAC chief executive, Ian Ball. ‘While some nations appear to be moving toward recovery from the financial crisis, underlying problems of accountability and transparency remain. We believe that the adoption of international standards can help to address these issues and play an essential role in resolving the current crisis.’