Professional Standards Departments

The purpose of accounting standards is to achieve consistency and comparability of financial statements. Investors, government and tax authorities are also interested in understanding the true and fair view of the financial position of the businesses. The main aim of the international standards is to maintain transparency throughout the financial world. This allows businesses and individual investors to make educated financial decisions, as they are able to see exactly what has been happening with a company in which they wish to invest.

 

Adopting a single set of worldwide standards will simplify accounting procedures by allowing a company to use one reporting language throughout. A single standard will also provide investors and auditors with a cohesive view of finances. Currently, over 100 countries permit or require IFRS for companies.

 

Professional Standards Department in CPA Afghanistan is working closely with International Standard’s Licensors in order to meet and fulfill the criteria set forth by standard setters. Further on, adopting the international standards and activities surrounding it is executed by PSD with cooperation of ACCA based on their partnership terms. Moreover, Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) during the execution of their agreement agenda in Sri Lanka extensively broadly assisted PSD department on developing the long-term strategy of adoption and implementation of standards.

 

Nonetheless, Adoption of international standards is an obligation set by International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA). CPA Afghanistan as one of its crucial objective to obtain international recognition and membership of IFAC & CAPA will require to adopt and implement international accounting and auditing standards.

 

PSD is also working on developing simplified accounting set for small and micro undertakings. The objective of simplified accounting standards is to encourage small entities to align their financial for usefulness in tax returns and eventually will accommodate standards as they grow.

 

Professional standards required for use in Afghanistan are the international standards as issued by the standard-setting boards supported by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) 

 

Audit firms are required to conduct their Audit engagements in accordance with International Standards on Auditing issued by International Audit & Assurance Standards Boards IAABS and adopted by CPA Afghanistan.

 

Members are required to follow the International Code of Ethics issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). You can access the code for free at https://www.ethicsboard.org/iesba-code