International Federation of Accountants

IFAC An international accounting and external auditing organization. The IFAC was established in 1977 and is headquartered in New York. The IFAC Web site states that its objective is to "develop the accounting profession and *harmonize its standards worldwide to enable accountants to provide services of consistently high quality in the public interest." It also states that membership "is open to accountancy organizations recognized by law or general consensus within their countries as substantial national organizations in good standing." In 2003 the IFAC had over 150 member bodies. The organization’s activities include the issuing of international guidance on auditing, education, *ethics, *financial accounting, *management accounting, information technology, and public sector accounting. It is a key member of the *International Forum on Accountancy Development. The IFAC’s auditing guidance includes * International Standards on Auditing and * International Auditing Practice Statements, issued by the IFAC’s *International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. The organization has a news subscription service, details of which are available from its Web site. The IFAC itself does not issue * International Financial Reporting Standards, which are the responsibility of the *International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), but it supports the IASB’s role in the *harmonization of international financial reporting. The IFAC’s predecessor body was the International Coordination Committee for the Accountancy Profession (ICCAP), founded in 1972. Web site: www.ifac.org