Date issued: 12 September 2007

World Accountancy Week, to be held from December 2-8 2007, has a special significance for the Australian accounting profession.

The architects of this initiative, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), are meeting in Melbourne this week. The initiative was born of a desire to mark ‘Thirty Years of Progress’, the theme of IFAC’s 30^th anniversary year.

In the 70s, only a handful of countries were major players in the accounting world.  Australia was one of them.  The tenth International Accounting Conference, held in Sydney in1972, put Australia on the world map for accounting, and its success led ultimately to the establishment of IFAC in 1977.

Today, says IFAC Chief Executive Officer Ian Ball, IFAC has grown to an organization of some 120 professional accountancy bodies in 118 countries, united by the common goal of supporting the development of a strong profession dedicated to the public interest.

‘During World Accountancy Week, we are taking the opportunity to recognize the contributions of the more than 2.5 million accountants worldwide to economic growth and development.’

‘Australia continues to punch above its weight in the accounting profession worldwide. It does a lot to support IFAC and the goals of World Accountancy Week,’ adds Mr. Ball.

The week aims to:

• raise awareness of the role of the international accountancy profession and the contributions it makes to economic development and social well-being worldwide;
• enhance the attractiveness of the accountancy profession;
• encourage greater financial and management accountability by governments worldwide; and
• communicate key initiatives taken by IFAC, its independent standard-setting boards, members, and firms to strengthen the accountancy profession and protect the public interest.

The chief executives of the three major Australian accounting bodies – CPA Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the National Institute of Accountants – said they were wholly in favour of drawing attention to the profession through this initiative.

‘Demand for accounting services is outstripping supply the world over’, they said. ‘In Australia, it’s estimated that for every accountant there may be as many as four vacancies to fill, depending on the nature of the job.

‘Creating greater awareness of what accountants do, the value they add to business, and the stringent professional conduct that is required of them is very much in the public interest.’

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