The objective of the international Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) is to increase the confidence of investors and others that the public interest activities of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) - including the setting of standards by independent boards operating under the auspices of IFAC - are properly responsive to the public interest.

Overview

The PIOB was formally established in February 2005 to oversee IFAC's auditing and assurance, ethics, and education standard-setting activities as well as its Member Body Compliance Program. This last activity is designed to encourage member bodies to adopt international standards and to implement quality assurance and investigation and discipline programs.

The establishment of the PIOB is the result of a collaborative effort by the international financial regulatory community, working with IFAC, to ensure that auditing and assurance, ethics and educational standards for the accounting profession are set in a transparent manner that reflects the public interest. It was mutually recognized that high quality, transparent standard-setting processes with public and regulatory input, together with regulatory monitoring and public interest oversight, are necessary to enhance the quality of external audits of entities. For this reason, the PIOB also maintains active liaison with both The Monitoring Group and independent audit regulators around the world.

The PIOB is based in Madrid, Spain where it operates as La Fundación Consejo Internacional de Supervisión Público en Estándares de Auditoría, Ética Profesional y Materias Relacionadas, a non-profit Spanish foundation.

Responsibilities

The PIOB oversees IFAC's Public Interest Activity Committees (PIACs) comprising the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, International Accounting Education Standards Board, International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants, their respective Consultative Advisory Groups and the Compliance Advisory Panel (CAP). The PIOB:

  • Reviews and approves Terms of Reference for these entities;
  • Evaluates the boards' due process procedures;
  • Oversees the work of IFAC's Nominating Committee and approves the committee's nominations to the standard-setting boards and the CAP; and
  • Suggests projects to be added to the boards'  work programs.

The Chair of the PIOB also has the right to attend and to speak at IFAC Board meetings.

The PIOB

The Public Interest Oversight Board is chaired by Professor Stavros Thomadakis and comprises individuals from a number of professions and all branches of regulation. Its ten members were nominated by the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, the World Bank and the European Commission.

Recent Speeches

For the text of recent speeches given by PIOB members, click here.