Following a rigorous nominations process, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) announced the appointments of three outstanding members of the global accountancy profession to lead important committees supporting the profession across the world: Monica Foerster as Chair of the Small and Medium Practices (SMP)  Committee, Arjuna Herath as Chair of the Professional Accountancy Organisation (PAO) Development Committee and Charles Tilley for a second term as Chair of the Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee.

The IFAC board approved their appointments for three-year terms beginning January 1, 2017.
“All three chairs are proven leaders with deep expertise who are profoundly committed to the public interest. They bring substantial experience that will be of great benefit to the global profession,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer Fayez Choudhury. 
“We look forward to working with them to advance our support for SMPs, accountants in business and the development of PAOs—all vital components of a strong global accountancy profession.”
The PAO Development Committee serves as an important advisor to IFAC in its work to develop, promote and strengthen the accountancy profession and PAOs in the public interest. 

As Chair, Herath will provide direction to the committee’s efforts, including input to guidance and outreach to raise awareness of the role of the profession and PAOs in economic development. Herath will also serve as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for MOSAIC, the Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Accountancy and Improve Collaboration, alongside a Co-Chair representing the donor signatories.   A member of the committee since 2013, Herath joined the committee as President of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and the South Asian Federation of Accountants, and is a partner at Ernst & Young Sri Lanka and the Maldives. In addition to giving leadership to the profession in Sri Lanka and South Asia, he has more than two decades of experience as a Chartered Accountant in industry, commerce and public practice. 
Herath also serves on the board of directors of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board and completed a term in the board of the Confederation of Asia Pacific Accountants and as a Commissioner of the Sri Lanka Securities and Exchange Commission.