IFAC: IAESB proposes clarified standard on professional accounting education entry requirements
21 June 2011
The IAESB released for public exposure a proposed revision of International Education Standard (IES) 1, 'Entry Requirements to a Program of Professional Accounting Education'. Comments on the Exposure Draft are requested by September 21, 2011.
The revised education standard is intended to protect the public interest by both establishing fair and proportionate entry requirements—which help those individuals considering professional accounting education make appropriate career decisions—and ensuring that requirements for entry to professional accounting education are not misrepresented.
IES 1, originally approved in 2004, currently prescribes the principles to be used by professional accountancy organisations, including member bodies of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), when setting entry requirements for professional accounting education and practical experience. The revised standard proposes:
- specification of entry requirements for professional accounting education;
- explanation for the rationale behind the entry requirements;
- a requirement that excessive barriers to entry are not put in place; and
- a requirement to make relevant information publicly available so that candidates can assess their chances of successful completion.
The IAESB has undertaken a project to redraft all eight of its IESs in accordance with its new clarity drafting conventions, as outlined in its 2010-2012 Strategy and Work Plan. This project began in December 2010 with the proposed revision of IES 7, 'Continuing Professional Development: A Program of Lifelong Learning and Continuing Development of Professional Competence'. Proposed revisions of IES 4, 'Professional Values, Ethics, and Attitudes', and IES 6, 'Assessment of Professional Competence', were released for exposure in April 2011, and the comment period is still open. All IESs will have been revised and redrafted, or redrafted only, by the first quarter of 2013.
© IFAC
