The invitation to comment (ITC), Proposed Revision of the International Federation of Accountants' Constitution, was developed over the past year by the IFAC Constitutional Working Group. The Working Group was specially appointed by the IFAC Board to strengthen the organization's governance arrangements both to enhance its operations and to conform with current best practices.

The ITC proposes changes to reflect a three-tiered governance document structure, which would include the constitution, by-laws, and policies and procedure manual.

The ITC is posted on the IFAC Web site (PDF). Member bodies, regional accountancy organizations, regulators, accounting firms and the general public are invited to provide comments by February 1, 2006. Comments may be submitted by email to ITC@ifac.org. They can also be faxed to the attention of the Director of Operations at +1 (212) 286-9570 or mailed to IFAC, 545 Fifth Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10017, USA.

As part of the consultation process with member bodies, a workshop session will be held during the November council meeting to review the proposed changes and to provide member bodies with a further opportunity to offer their input on the constitution's proposed new structure.

The Constitutional Working Group will consider the comments received and prepare a revised constitution for approval in November 2006. When the revision is completed, it will be posted on the IFAC Web site.