1. About FEE and its Activities 10th Visegrad 4 Countries Meeting
Sárvár, 10 June 2010
Hans van Damme, FEE President

2. Content About FEE Organisation Activities of various bodies
Engagement of our members
Overview of current FEE Activities
Questions

3. About FEE
So let’s start by a few words on FEE.
The profession in its entirety and its diversity: 45% in public practice in both large and small firms and this is more than auditors only: accountants acting as consultants in a variety of sectors and specialities from company law to corporate finance and sustainability, tax advisors…
A majority of our members are not in public practice: business and public sector.
43 professional institutes of more than accountants all contributing to a more efficient, transparent and sustainable European economy
32 European countries, including all 27 EU MS

4. FEE’s Role: Representing the Profession and Adding Value to Members
With PCAOB, SEC, etc With EC, EP, EU Council & Committees
With IFAC & its Boards: IAASB, IESBA, IAESBA, CAGs, IPSASB, etc.
Inform, advise & influence
Facilitate consensus between
Catalyst in Europe
institutes, accountancy firms (big & small)
EU & intl. regulation, policy standard setting, etc.
How do we represent them?
We’re very much focused on the policy debate and especially the EU policy debate and we are engaging on all issues that have an impact on the profession or on which the profession can add value by bringing its expertise and field experience, its values and its public interest dimension.
We are in regular dialogue with the different policymakers, regulators and standards setters that you can see on this slide.
We’re also informing our members and hope to be a catalyst for change in the profession.
It’s from that perspective that we have worked on XBRL.

5. Adding value to members
Making representations to the EU Institutions
Making representations to international organisations
Identifying, analysing and influencing relevant public policy developments
Promoting co-operation among Members
Contacts with other regional groupings

6. Working with members

7. FEE General Assembly GA is top FEE governance body
Decisions on Constitutional matters:
Admission of new member organisations
Determination of members’ contribution
Appointment of President and Deputy President
Approval of annual financial statements
Decision on level of expenditure for next two years
Meets every second year
Execution of work at Council and Executive level

8. FEE Council Council is top FEE decision-making body
Exclusive right to decide FEE’s positions
Possibility to contribute to agenda and propose additional items with appropriate documentation
Increased transparency and accountability: Executive’s agendas and (draft) minutes provided to Council
General delegation to Executive

9. FEE Executive More central role in execution:
Implementing Council’s strategy and decisions
Coordinating and supervising Working Parties
Possibility to address WPs’ issues where necessary
Reporting to Council
Executive has full and unconditional implementation powers

10. Decisions at FEE Council creates and dissolves WPs
Member Bodies appoint Representatives, Executive may set criteria, President may make requests
Executive decides creation of Groups within WPs and of Joint-Groups
Coordinates the work of WPs
May impose reporting mechanisms
May specify and limit the use of denominations such as 'Committees‘, ‘Policy groups’ or 'Task Forces‘
No denomination may be used without Executive’s prior approval

11. FEE: Advancing members’ activities
Auditing
Sustainability
Financial Reporting
Qualification and Market Access
Ethics
Accounting
Company Law Corporate Governance
SMEs-SMPs
Insurance
Taxation
Banks
Public Sector
And more…

12. Accountants: involved for centuries
… this man is Luca Pacioli, who we know as the father of accounting. Well some say that mainly theorised what Venice merchants were doing to understand and manage their business.
Many surveys and polls, some conducted by some of our Member Bodies, others by UEAPME, the representative organisation for SMEs in Europe have shown that accountants are the preferred source of advice of SMEs. This is why we thought that today we should ask SMEs to tell us what they think - What is really important to them
Their real needs
How they struggle in the current crisis and what way out they see
How they feel about (regulation) what we do for them and what policymakers do for them
According to a 2007 poll (EC Observatory of European SMEs): 36% of EU SMEs reported that compliance with administrative regulations constrained their business activities - 44% of SMEs consider themselves as operating in an over-regulated environment.
And what is worst – and I would personally despite all the fuzz we hear in Brussels about cutting red tape and simplification – SMEs believe things are deteriorating, not improving.
So we have to listen to SMEs and only then we shall be better placed to understand, deliver and service SMEs.

13. Developments impacting our profession

14. 5 decisive years to fostering recovery and sustainability

15. FEE: contributing to policy debates
ONE: Making the Internal Market a reality
TWO: Thinking small first for SMEs,
green and global too
THREE: Promoting transparency through high quality financial reporting and global standards
FOUR: Fostering trust and integrity through auditing
FIVE: Improving corporate governance and company law
SIX: Ensuring better regulation and better financial supervision
SEVEN: Integrating sustainability at the heart of policymaking, society and markets

16. Key issues: Accounting 1
International
Pressure on IASB to respond to G20 and financial crisis  Convergence and new standards
Many new standards out for comments
Heavy work on IAS 39 overhaul (IFRS 9)
Ongoing IASCF constitutional review
Developments US and elsewhere
Level playing field
FEE favours high-quality principles-based global standards
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17. Key issues: Accounting 2
Europe
Overhaul of 4th and 7th Directives
Proposal for Micro enterprises
Proposals on dynamic provisioning
Major implementation work on Solvency II
EFRAG enhancement
Improved operating structure (PRC)
Joint funding from EU, founding fathers and NFM
New Supervisory Board
More attention on pro-active role
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18. Key issues: Audit 1 Clarified ISAs SAD issues
Project finalised by IAASB
Adoption for use in EU in relation to outcome Consultation document 2009
Some countries will need to move from National standards to ISAs
Task force on proportionality
Survey on audit software, training and other implementation issues
SAD issues
Article 47 on access to audit working papers
FEE consistent position inspections: mutual reliance
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19. Key issues: Audit 2 Audit exemptions Alternative assurance services
Use of increased audit thresholds in various EU countries
Alternative assurance services
Increasingly addressed by accountancy bodies, regulators and EU institutions
Desire to arrive at positive audit opinion but with less work
FEE survey: Wide variety of practices confirmed
XBRL
Allowing or mandating filing of audited FS under XBRL becoming more and more common
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20. Other areas of work SME/SMP
Consideration on new working methods and strategy
QMA
EU Broad Consultation into Accountancy sector
Ethics
New ethical code 2009
FEE discussion paper Integrity in Professional Ethics
Comparison EC and IESBA independence principles and requirements being done
Corporate Governance/Company Law
More attention on governance in view of crisis: Green Papers
Assurance on Corporate Governance Statements
Sustainability
Policy statements on Sustainability issues
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21. Questions

22. Standing for trust and integrity
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