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15 November, 2004

Press Release - The Accounting Times

PICPA's Fatima Reyes Named to the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Sustainability Experts Advisory Panel (SEAP).

Fatima Reyes, Chair of PICPA's Environmental Accounting Committee, has been named as a member of  IFAC's   recently created Sustainability Experts Advisory Panel (SEAP).  The 15-member panel's work is to serve the International Auditing & Assurance Standards Board  (IAASB) and the Professional Accountants in Business  (PAIB) Committee.  Other matters that the panel will consider include assistance for the review of the next Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) guidelines on Triple Bottom Line Reporting, development of guidance for public accountants on sustainability assurance, case studies and best practice guidance on certain measurement and reporting issues.  Other members of the panel include those affiliated with accounting firms (Deloitte, Ey, KPMG), national accounting bodies (AICPA, ACCA, JICPA), and other organizations in the world dealing with accounting, environmental protection,  and sustainability issues.

To eliminate confusion and help clarify the definition, benefits, and application of Environmental Management Accounting (EMA), the Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has exposed for comment International Guidelines on Environmental Management Accounting.  This exposure draft (ED) is aimed at accountants and organizations interested in the potential economic and internal management benefits of EMA and will be helpful to public accountants and auditors who are responsible for tracking or verifying environment-related information in financial and other reports. The ED brings together some of the best existing information on EMA from a variety of authoritative bodies. It provides a general framework and set of definitions for EMA that is consistent with existing, widely used environmental accounting frameworks with which EMA exists.

The ED may be viewed at www.ifac.org/Eds.  Comments on the ED are requested by February 28, 2005.  Comments may be submitted to EMAComments@ifac.org.

They can also be faxed to +1-212-286-9570 or mailed to IFAC at 545 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10017 USA.  All comments will be considered a matter of public record and will ultimately be posted on IFAC's website.