The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESA) have launched the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit (IFEA), a new oversight body to give the two boards independence from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
The new foundation is an implementation of a recommendation of the Monitoring Group (MG), a group of international financial institutions and regulatory bodies committed to advancing the public interest in areas related to international audit standard setting and audit quality.
The MG issued a set of recommendations in 2020 that advocated separating the IFAC and its standard-setting boards to reinforce their independence and separation from the accountancy profession.
The new foundation’s mission is to support the development of high-quality international standards in ethics, audt and assurance by:
● Ensuring an independent, technically expert and rigorous standard-setting process for ethics, audit, and assurance;
● Supporting the public interest throughout the entire standard-setting process in ethics, audit and assurance; and
● Through the IAASB and IESBA, conducting research to support developing, adopting and implementing international standards and to help educate and inform stakeholders.
“Establishing the Foundation as an independent legal entity to house the IESBA and IAASB, which were previously within the IFAC structure, is an important step in strengthening the independence of the international standard-setting system for ethics, audit and assurance,” said Chair Trustee of the Foundation Robert Buchanan.
The Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) will continue its role as an independent oversight board, supporting the public interest responsiveness of the international standards and the effective delivery of the boards’ strategies, according to the statement.
We are confident that the revised structure—with IFEA as the home of the standard-setting boards governed by a board of trustees that includes both PIOB and IFAC appointed trustees—is an important mechanism created by the Monitoring Group to reform with the profession and simultaneously enhance the independence of the standard-setting boards,” said PIOB Chair Linda de Beer. “This, in conjunction with an independent nominations process housed within the PIOB through the PIOB Standard Setting Boards Nominations Committee, will continue to enhance the trust and confidence in the standard-setting process.”
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chief Accountant Paul Munter is co-chair of the MG. “The objectives of the Monitoring Group’s recommendations included achieving an independent and inclusive, multi-stakeholder standard-setting system, and fostering the development of timely, high-quality standards that are responsive to the rapidly changing environment while still being responsive to the public interest,” he said. "We are confident that the new structure advances both objectives. We are pleased the recommended reforms are on track for full implementation through diligent, collective efforts, and the focus is now on the implementation of the resource and costing plans.”