African countries are at various stages of adoption and implementation of international accounting and auditing standards, and there is clearly a significant unmet need for an enduring, centralized, competent, and adequately funded source of technical advice and assistance, available to all African countries seeking to implement independent accounting and audit oversight.
There is a need to develop basic legal frameworks, regulations, and institutions to oversee auditing of financial statements of public interest entities, including the financial sector, to help promote investor and lender confidence, and to facilitate integration into the regional economy. Training, advice, and capacity development are critical to the success of these bodies. AFIAAR functions as a centralised source to efficiently develop, accumulate, and disseminate tools and knowledge of good practices for the implementation and operation of robust accounting and auditing oversight systems, with a focus on tackling the challenging environments seen in many African countries.
AFIAAR was established as a capacity development body similar to the IDI to help with building the capacity of recently established accounting and auditing oversight boards in African countries.
The Strategic Focus Areas set forth below are the overarching principles that guide AFIAAR in advancing its mission and fulfilling its objectives and being recognized as the leading continental organization on accounting and audit regulation and oversight in Africa:
- Strategic objective 1: Build member capabilities.
- Strategic objective 2: Advocacy and Outreach
- Strategic Objective 3: Promote sustainable improvement in quality.
- Strategic objective 4: Influence the international standard setting process so that the resulting IFRS Accounting Standards, IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, IPSAS and ISAs and Ethics Standards are fit for use in Africa.
