The Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) represents the regional voice of the accountancy profession across Asia Pacific, comprising 29 Professional Accountancy Organisations (PAOs) from 21 jurisdictions. Collectively, CAPA’s members represent nearly three million accountants worldwide, advancing financial integrity and good governance across the region.
Recognised by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) as the regional organisation for the Asia Pacific, CAPA serves as a vital bridge between regional and global professional developments, bringing the perspectives of the profession in Asia Pacific to international stage. Through CAPA, our members gain access to IFAC global initiatives, standards and policy dialogues, ensuring the region remains aligned with evolving global practices while addressing local priorities.
Established nearly seven decades ago, CAPA is driven by its mission to enhance the value and influence of the accountancy profession in the Asia Pacific across the region by:
- Strengthening and advancing PAOs to ensure a resilient and future-ready profession.
- Championing ethics, trust and excellence through high-quality accounting, reporting and assurance.
- Serving as the collective voice of the profession to advance transparency, accountability and inclusive, sustainable growth for the region.
CAPA’s 60th anniversary commemorative book titled ‘CAPA – Sixty Years and Counting’ documents CAPA’s history from its inception in the year 1957 up to the year 2017.
The Formation of CAPA
CAPA was the brainchild of the President of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Governor Gregorio S. Licaros, who was also the Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines back then.
| 28 Nov – 1 Dec, 1957
Manila, Philippines |
The First Far East Conference of Accountants was held.
The First Far East Conference of Accountants created history in the accountancy world as it became the base for various professional accounting bodies in the Far East to confer every few years to discuss and exchange information. This event was the forerunner of CAPA as it actualised the concept of a regional conference of accountants in the Asia-Pacific region, and has since been identified as the 1st CAPA Conference. Delegates from the following 15 jurisdictions attended the conference, and these jurisdictions were considered the founding members of CAPA.
Delegates from England and the Netherlands attended the conference as observers. This first conference resulted in several important issues:
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| 31 Mar – 2 Apr, 1960
Canberra & Melbourne, Australia |
The Asian and Pacific Accounting Convention was held.
Apart from the 15 jurisdictions that attended the first conference, delegates from these new jurisdictions joined the second conference:
As more jurisdictions became involved, the conference was renamed the ‘Asian and Pacific Accounting Convention’, and has since been identified as the 2nd CAPA Conference. |
| 15-19 Oct, 1962
Tokyo & Kyoto, Japan |
The Conference of the Asian and Pacific Accountants was held.
This conference was named the ‘Conference of the Asian and Pacific Accountants’, the first time the acronym “CAPA” was used. With this, subsequent conferences were named as “CAPA Conference”. This has since been identified as the 3rd CAPA Conference, and delegates from the following new jurisdictions joined.
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| 20-24 Sep, 1976
Hong Kong |
The 8th CAPA Conference was held.
At the conclusion of this conference, CAPA adopted a formal charter, established an Executive Committee (now the Board) and elected its first President. With this, the organisation was formally renamed the ‘Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants’. |
