UNCTAD/WEB/DIAE/ED/2013/5

December 2013 

In this issue:  

UNCTAD-ISAR holds its thirtieth anniversary session
The UNCTAD Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) held its thirtieth anniversary session at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 6 to 8 November 2013. With close to 330 participants from some 90 countries, 45 speakers and 8 main events organized over 3 days, ISAR remains UNCTAD's largest expert group meeting and one of the United Nation’s longest-standing expert groups.

This year's session addressed two main agenda items.First, it deliberated on issues related to the human capacity pillar of the Accounting Development Tool and reviewed trends in the development of international corporate reporting standards and their implications for human capacity-building. Deliberations on the second main agenda item focused on a draft guidance intended to promote a harmonized approach to sustainability reporting. The guidance is intended to be a voluntary technical aid for, among others, stock exchanges and capital market regulators on current best practices in corporate sustainability reporting initiatives. 

The session also considered topics related to integrated reporting, corporate governance disclosure and environmental reporting. Country studies on the implementation of corporate governance disclosure were also presented.

Delegates heard from UNCTAD staff, corporate reporting experts, representatives of international organizations and high-level officials. These included Ngy Tayi, Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cambodia; Verónica Gallardo Aguirre, Vice-Minister of Finance, Ecuador; Michel Prada, Chair, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation; Richard Howitt, Member, European Parliament, Special Rapporteur on Corporate Social Responsibility; Jennifer Thomson, Chief Financial Management Officer, World Bank; Fayezul Choudhury, Chief Executive Officer, International Federation of Accountants; Tajinder Singh, Deputy Secretary General, International Organization of Securities Commissions; Richard Thorpe, Adviser on Accounting and Auditing, Financial Stability Board; Christian Migan,  President, Accounting Standards Board, Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa; Paul Druckman, Chief Executive Officer, International Integrated Reporting Committee and Paul Abberley, Head of Investments, Aviva Investors.

Substantive outputs of ISAR 30 include an analytical paper on human resource capacity issues in the area of accounting and the launch of the new UNCTAD Best Practice Guidance for Policy Makers and Stock Exchanges on Sustainability Reporting Initiatives. Several side events, including an ad hoc expert meeting on the Accounting Development Tool, a meeting on the revision of the UNCTAD model curriculum and another ad hoc meeting on corporate social responsibility issues, were organized to facilitate deliberations during the ISAR sessions.

The thirtieth session of ISAR reached agreed conclusions on the respective agenda items. On the first agenda item, ISAR highlighted the critical importance of high-quality corporate reporting to accelerate the recovery of the world economy in the aftermath of the recent financial and sovereign debt crises. The experts commended the usefulness of the Accounting Development Tool in assisting member States in assessing their respective regulatory, institutional and human-capacity arrangements and in identifying gaps by benchmarking against globally recognized standards and codes, and developing action plans to tackle these gaps. Other delegates expressed their appreciation to the countries that had applied the UNCTAD-ISAR Accounting Development Tool in the intersessional period leading to the thirtieth session and provided their feedback to the Group of Experts, namely Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador, Kenya, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The Group of Experts noted with concern the growing challenges that member States continued to face in implementing International Public Sector Accounting Standards and developing the necessary human resources required for their implementation. Concluding their deliberations on the topic "Key foundations for high-quality corporate reporting: Human resources development challenges",  the Group of Experts  called on UNCTAD to continue conducting studies on global developments, with implications for the professional development of accountants, including the model accounting curriculum issued by ISAR with a view to considering appropriate updates. 

On the second agenda item, the Group of Experts noted that the work of ISAR in the area of financial and non-financial reporting played an important role within the broader United Nations development agenda towards achieving sustainable and inclusive growth. ISAR agreed on the importance of promoting a harmonized approach to sustainability reporting among member States, while recognizing the need for flexibility in the types of initiatives adopted by policymakers and stock exchanges. The Group of Experts also took note of recent developments in the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative, including the July 2013 speech of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the New York Stock Exchange in which he urged stock exchanges around the world to join this voluntary initiative. Concluding its deliberations on this agenda item, the Group of Experts agreed that the Guidance was a practical voluntary tool to help policymakers and stock exchanges assess their options for introducing sustainability reporting initiatives.

The official report of the session, including agreed conclusions reached on the respective agenda items, can be accessed by clicking here.  

UNCTAD-ISAR and IFRS Foundation hold joint workshop on accounting for small and medium-sized enterprises 
On the eve of the ISAR session, UNCTAD and the IFRS Foundation jointly conducted a whole-day technical workshop on accounting for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Close to 180 delegates attended the technical workshop. Prominent experts reviewed overall progress in meeting the accounting and financial reporting needs of SMEs. Representatives from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) gave presentations outlining the expected revisions of IFRS for SMEs. Experts from the IFRS Foundation discussed key developments and challenges in implementing IFRS for SMEs. Their presentations included an update on SME activities, information about the exposure draft of proposed amendments to IFRS for SMEs and the review process expected in the near future. The panel in the final session of the workshop addressed the capacity-building needs of SMEs in accounting and reporting, focusing on the training needs of SMEs and SMPs to support high-quality financial reporting, resources available for training and the initiatives of development partners to support training for SMEs. 

UNCTAD recognizes past ISAR Chairpersons for outstanding contributions 
On the evening of the first day of the session, UNCTAD held an awards ceremony in honour of past ISAR chairpersons since the inception of the Group of Experts in 1982. The ceremony took place at the Palais des Nations, Hall XIV, at 6 p.m. Senior staff of the UNCTAD secretariat presided over the ceremony. In his introductory speech, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD Petko Draganov stated: "…the leadership exercised by the ISAR chairpersons has been a critical factor in successfully guiding discussions among the diverse constituencies that participate in ISAR sessions". He presented former chairpersons a certificate of recognition for their excellent contribution to the work of ISAR. At the end of the ceremony, guests were welcomed to enjoy the cocktail reception, which was well attended by the delegates. Perhaps the most notable feat of the evening was the jazz performance by the United Nations Music Club, which entertained the guests during the reception.

New website launched to commemorate ISAR's thirtieth anniversary

To commemorate this year's thirtieth anniversary, UNCTAD launched a dedicated website on ISAR 30 events. The website went live shortly before the commencement of the ISAR session and included information on the event: the programme, key documents and a biographical note on session speakers. Keen to increasing its visibility, the website aims to promote the work of ISAR as the only intergovernmental working group of experts devoted to corporate transparency and accounting issues at the corporate level with a view to improving the global comparability and reliability of corporate reports. The website has been updated to include links to the presentations given at the ISAR session and the photos captured during the event. Notably, the website contains a link to the Accounting Development Tool website, promoting the product as an effective tool for measuring the level of development of a country’s accountancy environment.  The new user-friendly website is updated regularly and is a key resource for member States to obtain more information about this year's ISAR session. The new website can be accessed by clicking here. 

UNCTAD signs memorandums of understanding with the International Integrated Reporting Council and the Interamerican Accounting Association
One of the key parallel events that occurred during this year's session was the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between UNCTAD and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). Paul Druckman, IIRC Chief Executive Officer, represented the Council, and Petko Draganov, UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General, signed on behalf of UNCTAD. The agreement is intended to foster deeper collaboration between the two organizations in an effort to promote global harmonization and clarity of reporting frameworks, and ultimately, improved effectiveness in corporate reporting practices.  It was the culmination of bilateral meetings between the two organizations at the ISAR session and is expected to enhance UNCTAD's support for work on integrated reporting.
 

UNCTAD and the Interamerican Accounting Association also signed an MOU in November. The agreement aims to join the efforts of the two organizations to raise awareness and promote the importance of accountancy in developing strong economies in the Americas and contribute to a greater recognition of the value of high-quality corporate reporting, good governance and decision-making, leading to better development outcomes. Possible areas of cooperation include research, participation in task forces and consultative groups, promoting the application of the Accounting Development Tool, facilitating cooperation among regional accountancy organizations, participation in events and training.