The World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) has been held under the auspices of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the worldwide organization for the accountancy profession, every five years since 1952 and every four years since 2002. The host organization rotates every four years to a different national professional accounting organization, chosen by an IFAC selection team. The objective of the team is to select the candidate most likely to host a financially and otherwise successful World Congress and surrounding program. Selection criteria include the abilities and experience of the member body and the professional conference organizers in organizing such events; the suitability of the proposed venue; and the attractiveness to potential delegates of the venue and of the country in which it is situated; among other criteria.
The Congress gives participants the opportunity to listen to world-class speakers and leaders of the finance and business community, to exchange views with other accounting and finance professionals from around the world, and to debate current issues and trends in the profession. Congress speakers include international and national standards setters, accounting organizations, accounting firms, regulators, and commerce groups.[1]
About eighteen months in advance of the Congress, IFAC issues a call for applications for research papers; selected papers are published and distributed at the Congress to stimulate debate and share innovative thought leadership. The submission guidelines in the call for papers document state that "papers are welcomed on original and unpublished research by scholars belonging to academic or accountancy bodies".[2]
Since the first World Congress of Accountants was held in 1904, presentation topics have included accounting for profits and government issues,[3] public sector accounting, and fair value accounting.[4]
Dubbed by some as the "Olympics of the Accountancy Profession", the WCOA attracts thousands of accountants, with 6,000 delegates from 134 countries attending the 18th World Congress of Accountants in Kuala Lumpur in 2010.[5]