Jim Quigley, CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and Deloitte Argentina Partner Fermin del Valle, who serves as president of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), spoke at the IFAC World Accountancy Forum, held December 4, 2007 in New York City. At the event, which marked the organization's 30th anniversary, the IFAC declared the first week in December World Accountancy Week.

Del Valle welcomed attendees with an address that centered on the forum’s theme: Government, the Accountancy Profession and the Public Trust.

"Trust between governments and the accountancy profession is an important condition to generate and maintain the public trust," del Valle said. Trust, he told the audience, implies truth. He encouraged all to be defenders and upholders of trust and advocates of trustworthy organizations.

Like del Valle, Deloitte’s CEO was among prominent speakers from government, standard-setting bodies, regulators, accounting firms, public policy organizations and IFAC leadership.

Quigley presented at a panel about finding balance in governance, oversight and business growth, discussing the importance of corporate governance in global capital markets and the role the accounting profession plays today and in the future of global capital markets.

“The drive toward corporate governance is not going to diminish anytime soon,” Quigley explained. “Value directly correlates to trust and trust is underpinned by such basic business fundamentals as strong corporate governance.”
 
According to IFAC, World Accountancy Week aims to “recognize the contributions of more than 2.5 million professional accountants to protecting the public interest and supporting economic growth and development worldwide.”
 
Watch a video of Jim Quigley’s panel discussion and download Fermin del Valle's speech below.