SMEs often, especially when they lack sufficient in-house expertise, look to SMPs to provide a broad range of professional services, from traditional accountancy-based services to business advisory services. In addition, a strong SMP constituency can contribute to increased choice and competition in the market for professional services.
Meanwhile, SMPs are confronted by a range of operational, market, and regulatory challenges themselves. These challenges are nothing new, but what is new is their size and importance. IFAC and our members recognise that to provide effective support to the SME sector, SMPs need more help. The vast majority of the heads of IFAC member bodies (95 per cent) told us, in their responses to IFAC’s 2010 Global Leadership Survey, that addressing the needs of SMEs and SMPs is crucial.
Setting the agenda for the SMP Committee
The IFAC Board’s recommendations have essentially become the foundation of the SMP Committee’s objectives – not only for this year, but for the next several years. The scope of the recommendations is exciting, as we pursue many new initiatives that should greatly increase the committee’s ability to assist SMPs globally.
Our strategy is built upon four key objectives, which align very closely with the board’s recommendations. These are to:
- provide input to IFAC’s policy-making process and participate in its regulatory dialogue to ensure that SMP and SME issues are fully considered
- help to shape the form and content of international standards to ensure their stability, relevance, and proportionality to SMEs and SMPs
- communicate the importance of the SME sector and the role SMPs can play in supporting this crucial sector to enhance the visibility, voice, and recognition of SMPs; and
- provide and promote practical support to SMPs to enhance their ability to provide high-quality and relevant professional services to their clients.
Contributing to IFAC’s regulatory dialogue
The committee recently participated in the development of IFAC’s response to the European Commission’s Green Paper, Audit Policy: Lessons from the Crisis. Our insights and views helped ensure the IFAC response was robust, balanced, and sufficiently focused on SME and SMP issues. The committee will continue to closely monitor IFAC’s regulatory dialogue and participate when relevant.
Helping to shape standards
The committee provides input on key standards and publications at all stages of their development. This year, with the formation of its SME/SMP Working Group, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) is working to address the issues faced by SMEs and SMPs in complying with the IESBA Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code). Two SMP Committee members serve on this working group.
Enhancing the visibility of SMPs
One of the ways the committee hopes to enhance the visibility of SMPs is by increasing speaking engagements by committee members and staff at national, regional, and global events and meetings, where they will discuss the value of SMPs and their role in supporting SMEs.
Each year, the committee holds an SMP Forum where practitioners from IFAC member bodies convene to learn, share and discuss the key issues facing the profession.
The 2011 SMP Forum in Istanbul attracted over 200 delegates. The event affords us an opportunity not only to promote the profession, but also to gain feedback from our constituents, which we can use to fine-tune our support for them.
Working to support and engage SMPs
IFAC is a federation of professional accountancy organisations and, as such, we primarily seek to support SMPs through our member bodies, which serve several hundred thousand SMP practitioners around the world. Increasing the engagement of this global constituency is a priority for the committee.
This year, the committee is developing a range of materials that member bodies can use to communicate with their SMP members, including articles with tools and tips to support practice management and implementation of the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). We also initiated a quarterly SMP poll, which many of our member bodies have distributed to their own members.
The SMP Committee has also issued three comprehensive guides to help practitioners implement international standards and proficiently manage their practices. Clearly, SMP and SME issues are an integral part of IFAC’s strategy. The independent standard-setting boards supported by IFAC have made great progress in accommodating SMEs and SMPs: the proposed IAASB strategy is testimony to this.
The IFAC SMP Committee is here to champion the cause of SMPs and represent the global SMP constituency. However, in isolation, its influence is limited; effective and enduring implementation of the IFAC Board recommendations depends upon a collective effort by IFAC, its member bodies, and the willingness of SMPs to engage, get involved, and speak with a single voice at the national, regional, and global level.
