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State Board Report

November

Proof of the work of the NASBA/AICPA International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) and their counterparts in other countries was evident at NASBA’s Annual Meeting. IQAB Chair Sharon Jensen (MN) moderated a session that saw the signing of the renewal of the tri-party mutual recognition agreement with the Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Públicos and CPA Canada by representatives of IMCP, CPAC, NASBA, AICPA and COMPIC (Comite Mexicano para la Practica Internacional de la Contaduria). As Ms. Jensen explained, this agreement took a significant amount of time as CPA Canada now represents all three accountancy bodies in Canada, and the qualifications for each were reviewed by the IQAB team, and specific requirements for those covered by the agreement were outlined in the renewal.

NASBA President Ken Bishop and AICPA President Barry Melancon thanked all those involved in this effort. Representatives at the signing included Tashia Batstone, CPAC Senior Vice Chair – External Relations and Business Development; Rachel Miller, CEO, Chartered Professional Accountants Alberta and Chair, Canadian CPA Profession’s Council of Chief Executives; Jose Besil, IMCP President; and Manuel A. Sanchez Y Madrid, Member, COMPIC.

Appreciation of the mutual recognition agreement’s renewal with the Chartered Accountants of Ireland, signed in August in Dublin (see sbr 9/17), was also voiced at the NASBA Annual Meeting, with CAI President Shauna Greely and Chief Executive Barry Dempsey thanked for their assistance and support of the negotiations.

Looking to an agreement that is set to be finalized in January 2018, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, represented by Anton Colella, CEO ICAS, and Mark Allison, Executive Director – Education and International ICAS. Mr. Colella remarked: “You don’t often have a chance to do things that history will remember. This is truly history in the making. Who would have thought the political reality would be what it is today. This process has gone all the way to the top of the political agenda. I want to honor those great men and women who have made these things happen.”