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IES 4, part of the IAESB’s project to improve the clarity of its standards, is primarily aimed at IFAC member bodies, but will be of interest to educational organisations, employers, regulators, government authorities, and other stakeholders who support the learning and development of professional accountants.
Drafted in 2004, IES 4 prescribes the values, ethics and attitudes that professional accountants should acquire during the education programme leading to qualification. A revised draft of IES 4 was exposed for public comment in May 2011 and, while respondents’ comments were generally supportive, further clarification was requested in explaining the requirements on learning outcomes, assessment, and reflective activity—the recurring process of reviewing experiences with a view to improve future actions. As a result, the IAESB has made substantial changes to the content of IES 4.
In addition to addressing these issues, the proposed revised IES 4 requires IFAC member bodies regularly to review and update their professional accounting education programmes. Professional accounting education programmes include formal education and workplace training. Updating both the knowledge content of professional accounting education programmes and the content of workplace training on a regular basis, improves the likelihood of learning outcomes being relevant and developing appropriate competence.
“The regular review and updating of professional accounting education programmes—including professional values, ethics and attitudes as outlined in IES 4—is essential to both the development and the maintenance of competence”, stated Prof Peter Wolnizer, chair of the IAESB. “Additionally, increasing competence improves the quality of financial information—a key component of business decision-making.”