About IFIAR
What We Do
- Improve audit quality globally.
- Strengthen IFIAR’s role as the international leader on audit matters through strategic thought leadership.
- Advance IFIAR’s governance structure and operations.
- Facilitate learning and cooperation among IFIAR Members.
Takashi Nagaoka of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan is the current Chair of IFIAR and Kevin Prendergast, Chief Executive of the Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) is the current Vice Chair. Their terms expire in April 2025.
Carl Renner is the current Executive Director of the IFIAR Secretariat based in Tokyo, Japan.
The IFIAR Board was established in April 2017 and is led by the Chair. The Board’s tasks and duties are set out in the Charter. Current Board Members are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The following organizations are observers of IFIAR meetings:
Basel Committee of Banking Supervisors (BCBS)
European Commission
Financial Stability Board (FSB)
International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)
International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO)
Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB)
World Bank
WHO WE ARE
Established in Paris in 2006 by independent audit regulators from 18 jurisdictions, IFIAR has grown to 54 Members around the world.
IFIAR’s mission is to serve the public interest, including investors, by enhancing audit oversight globally. The overall objective is to:
- Share knowledge of the evolving audit environment and the practical experience of independent audit regulatory activity.
- Promote collaboration and consistency in regulatory activity.
- Provide a platform for dialogue with other international organizations interested in audit quality.
Over the past decade, IFIAR has become the leading international organization on audit quality matters. Every year, IFIAR convenes a plenary meeting for Member representatives to discuss emerging regulatory issues, challenges facing the audit profession, and strategic approaches to sustainable audit quality.
Member representatives volunteer their time and resources to deliver practical outcomes that will enhance audit quality through their participation in a number of formal Working Groups and Task Forces that meet regularly throughout the year. IFIAR’s five Working Groups are focused on practical deliverables in the following areas: Engaging with the six largest global audit networks; inspections; enforcement; investors and other stakeholders, and standard setting.
Each year the organization hosts a workshop focused on inspection approaches, processes and challenges, enhancing insight into Members’ oversight regimes and identifying better practices. The workshop also promotes greater consistency across regulators, and provides opportunities to discuss approaches to overseeing global audit firms in a coordinated manner. IFIAR also holds a biennial enforcement workshop with similar goals. Other stakeholder meetings and meetings of IFIAR’s Board take place throughout the year.
To help measure audit quality trends, IFIAR conducts an annual Inspection Findings Survey which informs IFIAR’s collective efforts to promote audit quality globally, complementary to individual regulators’ audit firm inspection and oversight regimes. Results are made public every year.
As part of its outreach program, IFIAR delivers numerous speeches and presentations; submits formal comment letters regarding proposed new or changes standards, as well as interacting with international standard setters throughout their standard setting process to provide informal views of IFIAR Member representatives; and actively engages with non-Member jurisdictions interested in developing an independent auditor oversight regime. IFIAR also works closely with other international organizations, such as the Basel Committee of Banking Supervisors (BCBS), the European Commission, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) and the World Bank.
IFIAR Celebrates 10 Years of Cooperation in International Audit Regulation
IFIAR LEADERSHIP
CURRENT OFFICE BEARERS
Takashi Nagaoka of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan is the current Chair of IFIAR and Kevin Prendergast of the Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) is the current Vice Chair. Their terms expire in April 2025.
Takashi Nagaoka
CHAIR
Takashi Nagaoka, Secretary General of Certified Public Accountants and Auditing Oversight Board (CPAAOB) (since June 2022) and Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs at Japan’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA) (since July 2020), was elected IFIAR Chair in April 2023, after representing the JFSA at the IFIAR Board since 2017. Takashi has broad experience in financial regulation over his career at the JFSA since 2002. In addition to his work with IFIAR, Takashi also currently chairs the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding Monitoring Group and IOSCO Administrative Arrangement Assessment Group.
At the JFSA, prior to assuming his current position, Takashi led divisions in charge of managing departments responsible for policy making (2018-2019) and enforcement of market laws (2017). His career at the JFSA also includes leading supervision of securities businesses (2015-2016), international banking regulation (2014), and enforcement of corporate disclosure and audit laws (2012-13). Takashi started his career at the Ministry of Finance in 1991, and worked as an Economist at the IMF (1999-2002).
Takashi earned a B.A. in Law at the University of Tokyo, and has an MBA (Beta Gamma Sigma) from the Columbia Business School.
Kevin Prendergast
VICE CHAIR
Kevin Prendergast, Chief Executive of the Irish Auditing & Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) since November 2016, was elected IFIAR Vice Chair in April 2023. Kevin represents Ireland on the board of IFIAR and is also a member of the Consultative Group of the EU regulators’ committee, the CEAOB. Prior to joining IAASA, Kevin was Head of Enforcement with the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA), having been employed there since 2005. In the CEA he had overall responsibility for the office’s white collar crime investigations, as well as its compliance and director education mandate. He has worked in the Large Cases Division of the Revenue Commissioners and also has several years’ experience in the private sector including a number of years working in an audit firm.
Kevin is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland. As well as holding a Bachelor’s Degree and a Masters in Accounting from University College Dublin, he also holds an MSc in Executive Leadership from the University of Ulster.
Carl Renner
Executive Director
Carl Renner was appointed Executive Director in April 2017 and was responsible for the establishment of IFIAR’s Secretariat in Tokyo, Japan, where he now manages the team. Carl is responsible for all aspects of the Secretariat’s operations, which includes supporting IFIAR’s Officers and Board with their duties; facilitating collaboration and knowledge sharing between IFIAR Members; and serving as a representative of IFIAR to external stakeholders.
Carl’s career follows his passion for serving the public interest, contributing to high quality corporate reporting through his previous roles at the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and his career predominantly in a Big 4 audit firm, but also in a mid-size firm.
Originally from New Zealand, Carl is a chartered accountant with more than 17 years’ experience in audit firms, which includes 13 years as an auditor and 4 years as a financial due diligence specialist. During his career, Carl has worked in Sydney, Tokyo, and London.
IFIAR BOARD
The IFIAR Board was established in April 2017 and is led by the IFIAR Chair. The Board’s tasks and duties are set out in the Charter. Current Board Members are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chinese Taipei, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States.
