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San
José, Costa Rica, 27 March 2004
The
undersigned representatives or members of the organisations they refer
to who met in San José, Costa Rica, after considering
and examining the current state of the accounting profession at
the international and worldwide level
Whereas
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There
is no international organisation which currently sufficiently
represents in a broad and appropriate
manner the interests of professional
accountants and auditors who individually or jointly by means of
small or medium-sized firms carry out their professional services
mainly on behalf of small and medium-sized enterprises which
represent more than 90% of production and professional
services at worldwide
level
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The
recent financial scandals which occurred in large corporations
affected the credibility and public trust of the accountancy
profession; that very
credibility and public trust which is
deemed to be fundamental by
the professional
accountancy organisations
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It
is public knowledge
that small and medium-sized accounting firms which constitute the
majority of the accountancy profession are not responsible for such
a negative situation, yet they have
been negatively affected by it
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This
new situation negatively affects the image of accounting firms,
regardless of their size, and ultimately that of all accountants who
for years have carried out their professional services in a proper
and efficient fashion
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The
globalisation and internationalisation of the economy have
engendered new conditions for the practice of the accounting
profession which equally affect those who work as sole practitioners
or in partnership
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Within
this new international context,
the different governments have set up different regulatory
frameworks for entities which operate on the capital markets and those
entities which do not operate on the capital markets, thus bringing
about the need for a set of accounting and auditing standards which
may apply smoothly to the different business sectors
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At
present there is no worldwide regulatory authority issuing
international accounting standards relevant to the very
important small and medium-sized enterprise sector
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Recognising
that identifying an
immediate solution to the aforementioned situation is a duty that
cannot be further deferred for a responsible profession, they
therefore
DECLARE
a)
their
resolve to take all necessary actions in order to organise a worldwide
forum with the aim of examining the requirements and needs of small and
medium-sized accountancy firms and sole practitioners
b)
that
the forum will seek to integrate accountants in a worldwide
representative group at the service of
Society where the
principles of solidarity and professional unity will stand as its very
foundations
c)
that
the professional bodies representing the accountancy profession in
America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia should be part of this
process
d)
that
likewise it would be convenient to involve
the various international organisations currently working within
the same framework
e)
that
these themes and objectives should be taken forward by means of meetings
in different countries so
that this process may obtain as much consensus as possible and be
completed as soon as possible.
In
conformity with the above statement which is drafted in three copies
(Spanish, English and Portuguese) is signed at the place and date
indicated
Leonardo
Rodriguez
President,
IAA
USA
Sylvie
Voghel
President,
Edinburgh Group
Fernando
Gonzalez-Moya R. De M.
President,
Consejo General de Colegios de Economistas de Espana
Victor
Abreu Paez
Executive
Director, IAA
Giuseppe
Messina
Member,
Edinburgh Group
Miguel
Arcangel Felicevich
President,
Federacion Argentina de
Consejos
Profesionales de Ciencias
Economicas
Alcedino
Gomes Barbosa
Technical
Vice President, IAA
Brazil
Cesar
Quiros Mora
President,
Colegios de Contadores
Publicos
de Costa Rica
Miguel
Hernan Santana
President,
Conferacion de Asociaiones de
Contadores
Publicos de Colombia
Angel
Salazar Frisancho
President,
federacion de Colegios
De
Contadores Publicos del Peru
Joseph
Paillant
President,
Ordre de Comptables Agree D’Haiti
Florencia
Rios
Ex
President, Conferencia Interamericana de
Contabilidad
de Panama
Ex
President, Asociacion de Mujeres Contadoras
De
Panama
Gladys
Salgado
Finance
Vice President, IAA
Ex
President Colegio de Peritos Mercantiles
Y
Contadores de Honduras
Jorge
Sandoval La Serna
Communication
Vice President, IAA
Executive
Director, Conferencia Interamericana
De
Contabilidad de Santa Crux de la Sierra, Bolivia
Jorge
Sapag Rodas
President,
Colegio de Auditores y Contadores Publicos
Autorizados
de Bolivia
Jaime
Hernandez Vasquez
Past
President, IAA
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