U.S. and New Zealand Sign Mutual Recognition Agreement

The U.S. International Qualifications Appraisal Board (U.S. IQAB) and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants have entered into a five-year Mutual Recognition Agreement that establishes the basis for reciprocity between the U.S. and New Zealand accounting professions.

William Treacy, chair of U.S. IQAB, and Linda Turner, president of the New Zealand Institute were the signatories on the agreement. The signing ceremony took place in Wellington, New Zealand.

“The Mutual Recognition Agreement with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in New Zealand is another important milestone in advancing international mobility for U.S. CPAs and New Zealand CAs,” said Treacy. U.S. IQAB is a joint body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.

Mutual Recognition Agreements facilitate cross-border mobility by streamlining the process for qualified professionals with accounting credentials to become certified and licensed in each other’s countries. Although approved by U.S. IQAB, the AICPA and NASBA, the agreements are subject to state board acceptance. The agreement with the New Zealand Institute has been recommended to the boards of accountancy in all 55 U.S. jurisdictions for their adoption and implementation.

“Accountancy is a global profession practiced by licensed and accredited professionals who are valued and respected not only for their technical expertise, but also for their adherence to ethical practices based on unquestioned integrity,” said NASBA President and CEO David A. Costello. “We in NASBA are pleased that U.S. CPAs and CAs of New Zealand are now able to formally recognize each other in a mutually accepted manner so that we, together, might serve as a model to the rest of the accountancy world of the effective regulation of accounting within a sound and public-interest focused environment."

“The importance of the accounting profession to international markets cannot be overestimated,” said Barry Melancon, AICPA president and CEO. “CPAs and CAs touch every aspect of their respective capital market systems and contribute significantly to both economic success and, in times of trial, economic recovery.

U.S. IQAB evaluates education, examination and experience requirements to assure state boards of the substantial equivalency of the other designation. This new agreement takes us a step further toward achieving our goal of uniting the international accounting profession.”

This is the sixth agreement U.S. IQAB has effected for accountancy with non-U.S. professional bodies. The New Zealand Institute joins the list of professional bodies in Australia (two agreements), Canada, Ireland and Mexico, facilitating reciprocity with the assistance of U.S. IQAB. A copy of the mutual recognition agreement is available on the www.nasba.org Web site.