April 19: An auditor is commonly known as a person who examines the accounts. An auditor has the right to verify the accounts prepared by the management in an organization or company. The auditor's role is not only limited to examining and commenting on the company's accounts. Auditors are becoming aware of the fact that they have to play a role for the sustainability of the audited company.

As the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the international umbrella organization of accounting professionals, is lobbying for the implementation of 'Sustainability Standard 1 and 2', the debate has also started among accounting professionals of Nepal.

The theme of the 3rd National Accounting Practitioner Conference organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN), which is working to promote and regulate accounting in Nepal, is 'Sustainable Accounting Practice'.

Sujan Kumar Kafle, president of ICAN, said that the conference, which started on Thursday and will conclude on Friday, will focus on this topic and present and discuss papers in this regard.

According to Kafle, the auditors should also look into environmental protection, social responsibility and good governance in addition to financial indicators to ensure the business to be sustainable.

As a member country of IFAC, Nepal is also working with the Accounting and Auditing Board for sustainable accounting practices.

Deepak Pandey, president of Chartered Accountants Association of Nepal (ACAN), the umbrella organization of chartered accountants, says that audit in Nepal has not risen above financial indicators. "Worldwide, the practice has started that auditing should rise above the disclosure of financial indicators," he said, "Now non-financial indicators are more important than financial indicators."

President of IFAC, Asmaa Resmouki, who came to Nepal to participate as a keynote speaker in the conference, pointed out the need to address issues of public interest for sustainable accounting practice.

Inaugurating the conference, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari said that accountants play an important role in the economic development and prosperity of the country. He said that compliance with the code of ethics is mandatory in the auditing profession. Nepal Rastra Bank’s Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said auditors are playing an important role in the development of the country's economy.

In Nepal, 1000 chartered accountants and 7000 registered auditors are involved in auditing more than 300,000 organizations annually. According to ICAN, Nepal Financial Reporting Standards (NFRS) are being implemented in Nepal according to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to make the accounting and auditing system of international standards. Thousands of accountants from all over the country are participating in the conference.