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Standard Setting Agencies Last Updated: May 2, 2002
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| Standard | Key Agency(s) | Description |
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| Accounting | International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) | A comprehensive set of
International Accounting Standards (IAS) have been completed
and promulgated by the IASC. If endorsed by IOSCO, these standards could
be used for cross-border offerings and listings in all global markets. On
June 2, 1999, IOSCO published a progress report on its Technical
Committee's evaluation of IASC's core standards. Membership in IASC is
predominantly private sector and carries no requirement that IAS be used.
Adoption of IAS is the decision of national authorities or, where
relevant, self-regulatory organizations. Some stock exchanges require
financial statements in accordance with IAS as a condition for
listing. For the public sector, IFAC is formulating accounting standards, based on the IAS, the first of which were completed by 2001. The IMF and the World Bank participate in the Public Sector Committee (PSC) of IFAC. The IFAC, in partnership with international financial institutions and the global accounting firms, established the International Forum on Accountancy Development (IFAD) in February 1999 to address issues related to the development of global financial architecture through the building of accounting and auditing capacity in developing and transitional economies. The BCBS has identified and reviewed in its Accounting Task Force those standards of interest to bank supervisors. Its evaluation of the international accounting standards developed by the IASC should be concluded by end-1999. In July 1999, the BCBS issued Sound Practices for Loan Accounting and Disclosure which provides guidance to banks and banking supervisors on recognition and measurement of loans, establishment of loan loss allowances, credit risk disclosure and related matters. The document also serves as a basic framework for supervisory evaluation of banks' policies and practices in these areas. |
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| Auditing | International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) | International standards on auditing
(ISAs) and audit practice statements (IAPs) have been formulated by IFAC
through its International Auditing Practices Committee (IAPC). IAPC will
work with IOSCO on ISAs for cross-border offerings and reporting by
foreign issuers as soon as IOSCO has completed the IASC endorsement
mentioned above. A significant number of IFAC members uses the ISA as a basis for developing their own national standards. The standards developed by IFAC/IAPC have no legal force; members are simply expected to use best efforts to see that IFAC and IASC pronouncements are used nationally. However, the IFAC does encourage members to undertake a self review of their domestic auditing practices to evaluate how well they compare with the ISA. |
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| Banking | Basel Committee | The Basel committee on banking Supervision endorsed the Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision in September 1997. The Core Principles Methodology (October 1999) sets out detailed guidelines for the assessment of compliance with the core principles. For each principle there is a set of criteria (essential and additional) against which compliance is assessed. |
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| Corporate Governance | OECD, Basle Committee, World Bank | The OECD Principles of Corporate
Governance were endorsed at the May 1999 OECD Ministerial meeting. The
principles are non-binding on OECD members. The OECD and the World Bank
have established, with the cooperation of other international
organizations, a Global Corporate Governance Forum, a Private Sector
Advisory Group and regional corporate governance roundtables to promote an
effective and continuing dialogue on corporate governance. The Basel Committee addresses corporate governance in the context of banking supervision and a report was circulated in January 1998 providing a framework for the supervisory evaluation of banks' internal controls. The World Bank Group has:
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| Data Dissemination | International Monetary Fund (IMF) |
The Third Review of the Fund's Data Standards Initiatives
was completed in March 2000. Staff monitoring of observance of the data
dimension and advance release calendar element of the access dimension of
the Special Data
Dissemination Standard (SDDS), beginning by end-June 2000, was
mandated by the Executive Board. A three-year transition period (ending
March 2003) for the dissemination of quarterly external debt statistics
with one-quarter lag as a required category of the SDDS, was also
approved. A new guide to the compilation of external debt statistics:
External Debt
Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users is in draft format, and
provides table formats that can be used a guidance in meeting the
requirements of the SDDS. The timeliness for the dissemination of the
annual International Investment Position (IIP), was increased from six to
nine months, provided that subscribers disseminate quarterly external debt
data with a one-quarter lag. For subscribers implementing accrual
accounting systems for fiscal data, periodicity and timeliness will be on
a best-effort basis during the period ending June 2002. The use of a
standard format for disseminating the reserves template and for
transmitting data to the Fund - approved by
the Executive Board in March 1999 - came into effect at the end of
March 2000. Monthly reserves template data are redisseminated in a common
template on the Fund's external website. |
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| Fiscal Transparency | International Monetary Fund (IMF) | The Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency was endorsed by the Interim Committee in April 1998. The Manual has been revised in light of comments received from country authorities, relevant international organizations, and others interested in fiscal transparency. The questionnaire, and manual are available on the Fund's web site. |
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| Insolvency and Creditor Rights Systems | World Bank, United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), International Bar Association (IBA) |
The World Bank, with its partner organizations, has
developed Principles and Guidelines for Effective Insolvency and
Creditor Rights Systems. A draft of the Principles was provided to the
Development committee in April 2001, and the first Reports on the
Observance of Standards and codes assessing countries' observance of these
Principles was completed in December 2001. |
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| Insurance Regulation | International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) | In September 1997 the IAIS issued
the Insurance Supervisory Principles, a compendium of principles,
standards and guidance papers. A Task Force has been established to
prepare a methodology for monitoring the implementation of the Principles
which will be prepared in close collaboration with the international
organizations engaged in surveillance activities. Three
additional standards were issued in September 1998 relating to
licensing, on-site inspections and supervision of
derivatives. The IAIS has solicited assistance from the World Bank in distributing the principles, standards and guidance notes to insurance supervisors, and in promoting implementation of the basic standards. The IAIS consists of insurance supervisors. It is charged with developing internationally endorsed principles and standards on insurance supervision, and with assisting insurance supervisors in implementing those principles and standards through cooperation programs and training. The IAIS recommendations are advisory, rather than binding, on the membership. |
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| Monetary and Financial Transparency Policies | International Monetary Fund (IMF) | The IMF has produced a draft Code of Good Practices on Transparency in Monetary and Financial Policies: Declaration of Principles, after consultations with the BIS, World Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), national authorities, international and national financial agency experts, and academic experts (See IMF Press Briefing on the draft Code.) In April 1999, the Board discussed a revised draft and approved placing it on the IMF external website for public consultation (See https://www.imf.org/external/np/mae/mft/index.htm) following the April 1999 Interim Committee Meeting. |
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| Payments Systems | Committee on Payment and Settlements Systems (CPSS) | The CPSS is working to improve the robustness of payments systems. |
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| Securities Market Regulation | International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) | Objectives and Principles of Securities
Regulation and Disclosure Standards to Facilitate Cross-Border Offering
and Initial Listings by Multinational Issuers
were endorsed by the IOSCO membership in September 1998. A Task Force is
developing two parallel self-evaluation exercises for IOSCO members: (i) a
high-level self-assessment based on the entire set of Principles; and (ii)
a more detailed self-assessment based on those Principles relating
specifically to the Regulator and the Issuer. The questionnaires for the
self-evaluation exercises are expected to be presented at IOSCO's Annual
Conference in May 2000. The Task Force is also developing mechanisms for
providing assistance to the international financial institutions and the
OECD in their use of the Principles. IOSCO is a forum for cooperation between national securities regulators. Its recommendations are meant to be advisory, rather than binding, on the membership. |
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