Date issued: 20 November 2008

CPA Australia has welcomed the outcomes from the G20 Leaders' Summit on the global financial crisis as a crucial starting point in addressing the crisis.

CPA Australia President Alex Malley said the focus on accounting issues at the meeting of world leaders showed the accounting profession’s critical role.

He said the profession must now be involved front and centre in the design and implementation of the new initiatives flagged. 

'The principles established at the G20 Leaders' Summit put accounting at the centre of the solution and crucially, provide a framework for moving forward in a coordinated manner,' he said.

'The accounting profession must take a leadership role to ensure the development of a financial system with transparency, consistency, accountability and reporting rigour at its core.'

Mr Malley said topics raised at the summit were in keeping with issues CPA Australia had previously identified as priorities.

'We have strongly argued the merits of fair value as the best method by which to measure the value of derivatives and certain other financial assets,' he said.

'We’ve emphasised the need to maintain the distinction between financial and prudential reporting. We also expressed our strong view of the need for an independent global standard setter and that the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is the body best equipped to fill that role.'

'These are all issues, some explicit and others implied, that the G20 Summit identified as matters to address.'

Among the issues raised at the Summit was the importance of developing ways to accurately report a business's range of activities, including those that are off balance sheet.

'The issues integral to resolving the current crisis are all within accountants' skill set,' Mr Malley said.

'Going forward, sustainability reporting will be critical to enhancing reporting rigour and transparency, due in large part to its emphasis on the identification of risk.

'CPA Australia is active in the development of sustainability reporting methods and we intend to raise this, among the other critical accounting and finance issues as our contribution to the ongoing efforts to redesign the global financial architecture.'

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