By A Staff Reporter
Dubai
A leading Arab accountant hit out yesterday at the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) for its resistance of globalisation and the delay in the development of accountancy examination and qualification standards.
“To continue resisting the development of examination and qualification standards is indefensible under the International Federation of Accountants’ mission of harmonisation, development and enhancement of the profession. Our community expects us to develop qualification standards and developing nations resent IFAC’s ambivalence towards this goal,” said Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Arab Society of Certified Accountants’ president, during a speech at the World Congress of Accountants in Paris yesterday.
“By WTO definition, accountancy services are like any other trade in goods or services and are governed by the WTO rules of trade liberalisation and market access,” he added.
“With a few exceptions, IFAC seems skewed towards developed nations and should democratise its elections process and provide for fair geographical representation,” he said.
“The committee will meet in Geneva on Friday to review the - proposed global curriculum and I urge IFAC to recognise that UNCTAD is the UN’s focal point working on the harmonisation of accounting standards for enterprises,” he said.