Comparison of the perception of overt and covert options in IPSAS financial statements by intergovernmental organizations

Tékhne ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-39
Author(s):  
Berit Adam
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Accrual Accounting ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Primary Reference

AbstractSince 2012, the European Commission has embarked on the ambitious project to harmonize public sector accounting rules on all levels of government within Europe, mainly to improve the quality as well as the comparability of financial data. Although International Public Sector Accounting Standards were deemed not to be suitable for a simple take-over because of various reasons, they nevertheless shall function as a primary reference point for developing European Public Sector Accounting Standards. A total of 21 out of 28 central governments have already reformed their accounting standards to accrual accounting, and some of them have also relied on IPSAS in this exercise. Apart from governments, various international and supranational governmental organizations have also since the end of the 2000’s been reforming their accounting system to accrual accounting, and have in the same way relied on existing IPSAS. This paper explores accounting practices found in ten intergovernmental organizations (Commonwealth Secretariat, Council of Europe, European Commission, IAEA, INTERPOL, ITER, NAPMA, OECD, International Criminal Court, WFP) whose statements are prepared in compliance with IPSAS. It analyzes how overt and covert options contained in IPSAS with relevance to the activities of intergovernmental organizations are exercised and evaluates in which areas of accounting material differences in accounting practices can be found, which may hinder the comparability of financial statements prepared on the basis of IPSAS.

Harmonisation of EPSASs (European Public Sector Accounting Standards): Developments and Prospects

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Pierre Calmel
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Accrual Accounting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
European Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

AbstractThe European Commission initiated a project to introduce accrual accounting in European countries that meets the objective of improving the reliability, transparency and comparability of public accounts.This article describes the importance of defining the governance model for future European public sector accounting standards, explains the need to define accounting standards taking into consideration the specific features of the public sector and illustrates these points with the accounting treatment of financial liabilities.

scholarly journals Harmonisation efforts in the field of accounting of public sector

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-202
Author(s):  
Milena Otavová
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Financial Reporting Standards ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Accounting Rules ◽  
The Difference

Increasing requirements for financial reporting of public sector led to a need to create a system that would provide relevant and reliable information for management of accounting entities of public sector and also to increase the quality of accounting and financial statements of public institutions. The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) is therefore creating high-quality financial reporting standards for public sector (IPSAS). Paper points out the ongoing reform of accounting in the field of public finances in the Czech Republic, where there are substantial changes in accounting rules and it also introduces new accounting methods. Regarding the fact that accounting of public sector is nowadays accounting system perhaps with the greatest potential of development, paper highlights the differences in financial reporting in accordance with Czech legislation and IPSAS system. It tries to catch the essential differences that arise from the financial legislation, the accounting basis and also from the content of financial statements. The paper also indicates the difference between Czech Accounting Standards for selected accounting entities that maintain accounts in accordance with Decree No. 410/2009 Coll. and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). There is also recommended approach to the creation of national standards with regard to international harmonization.

scholarly journals Towards accounting harmonization in Europe: a multinational survey among budget experts

2020 ◽  
pp. 002085232091564
Author(s):  
Markus Frintrup ◽  
Lisa Schmidthuber ◽  
Dennis Hilgers
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Current Accounting ◽  
European Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Standards Development ◽  
Standards Reform

Severe fiscal problems, the insufficient comparability of financial information and increasing demands for better accountability require national governments and international organizations to change their current accounting regimes and to move towards a system of standardized accounting practices. As the International Public Sector Accounting Standards have insufficiently moved Europe towards accounting harmonization in recent years, the European Commission currently aims to suggest the adoption of European Public Sector Accounting Standards. Based on a multinational survey among budget experts, the current article investigates budget experts’ perceptions towards adopting the European Public Sector Accounting Standards. The findings compare attitudes towards new accounting practices and European Public Sector Accounting Standards reform expectations on a comparative basis, and relate them to the current national accounting system and contextual factors. Empirical results indicate great variation in terms of European Public Sector Accounting Standards reform expectations across countries. The study concludes with discussing the implications of the findings for international accounting research, accounting harmonization and the development of a European accounting system. Points for practitioners In this early stage of European Public Sector Accounting Standards development, understanding the factors associated with a country’s decision to adopt them could be helpful for practitioners and professionals. The current study identifies information technology costs as a potential barrier to implementing the European Public Sector Accounting Standards. Politicians and standard setters might take this into account while developing the European Public Sector Accounting Standards. Furthermore, this article reveals that encouraging the voluntary introduction of accrual accounting in the first stage of European Public Sector Accounting Standards development might be the appropriate approach of the European Commission.

The Reporting Entity in Private-Public Accounting Harmonisation. Is Control Enough for the Local Government Consolidated Financial Statements?

2017 ◽  
pp. 5-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Carini ◽  
Laura Rocca ◽  
Claudio Teodori ◽  
Monica Veneziani
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Consolidated Financial Statements ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Accountability ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Reporting Entity

The European Commission initiated a discussion on the expediency of using the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), based on the IAS/IFRS, as a common base for harmonizing the public sector accounting systems of the member states. However, literature suggests that accounting is not neutral with respect to the economic, social and political dimensions. In the perspective of evolution of the accounting regulation outlined, balanced between accountability, with the need to represent phenomena for reporting pur-poses, and decisionmaking issues, which concentrates on the quantitative importance of the values, the paper aims to analyse the effects of the application of different criteria for the definition of the reporting entity of the local government consolidated financial statements (CFS). The Italian PCA 4/4, the test of control and the financial accountability approaches are examined. The evidence that emerged from the case studies examined identifies several criticalities in the Italian PCA 4/4 and support the thesis that the financial accountability approach is more effective in providing a complete representation of the public resources entrusted to and managed by the group, whereas the control approach better approximates quantification of the group results in terms of central government surveillance. The analysis highlights the importance of the post implementation review period and the opportunity to contextualize the adoption of the consolidated financial statement in the broader spectrum of the accounting harmonization process, participating in the process of definition of the European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS).

scholarly journals Exemptions Resulting from the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and European Standards for Intangible Investment, Inventories and Personnel Expenditures in Public Entities

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-130
Author(s):  
Corina Enache
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Employee Benefits ◽  
International Accounting Standards ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Personnel Expenses ◽  
European Standards

Abstract Simultaneously with the globalization of economies, it was necessary the adoption and implementation of international accounting standards for the public sector also. In 1996 a set of accounting standards for public sector entities was developed, namely International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). After 31st July 1998, 32 IPSAS standards, mostly inspired by IASs, centered on model and engagement-based accounting, were issued. IPSAS 1 – Presentation of financial statements relating to the place of intangible assets, inventories and personnel expenses in the content and format of the financial statements is applied to all general purpose financial statements realized under accrual accounting. The IPSAS 12 – Inventory objective is to state the stock accounting treatment. The IPSAS 25 objective – Employee benefits is to state the employee benefits from an accounting perspective.

scholarly journals From Accountability to Readability in the Public Sector: Evidence from Italian Universities

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Alessandra Allini ◽  
Luca Ferri ◽  
Marco Maffei ◽  
Annamaria Zampella
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Accrual Accounting ◽  
Accounting Systems ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Italian Government ◽  
Final Sample

This paper aims to explore the readability of the disclosure provided by Italian universities that changed their accounting systems to accrual accounting over the past three years. The transition from cash to accrual accounting not only concerns financial statements, but also the related notes. Indeed, the Italian government has paid great attention to the narrative sections of reports due to their capacity to provide more transparency. To provide better accountability, financial statements must be readable for all stakeholders. We used two different indexes, namely the Gunning fog and GULPEase indexes. The analysis was conducted on a sample of universities to analyze the narrative sections of the first financial statements prepared according to the new accounting system in 2012–2014. The final sample comprised 32 Italian universities. The research results demonstrated low readability in the balance sheets of Italian universities after switching to accrual accounting, illustrating an unsatisfactory level of accountability.

scholarly journals FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERNIZATION OF ACCOUNTING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetyana Cherkashyna ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Budgetary Institutions ◽  
Effective Use

Ukraine’s aspirations to the European community and long-term cooperation with international financial funds, foreign government agencies contributed to the beginning of the entire accounting system of the public sector. The process of transformation of the public sector accounting system has been complex and ambiguous. The efforts of reformers: government, academics, accountants-practitioners are aimed at adapting to international accounting standards. Accounting reform in the public sector continues today. The implementation of international accounting standards should result in harmonized financial reporting of budgetary institutions, prepared in accordance with current standards. The main requirements for quality reporting of budgetary institutions: the information context of reporting forms, effective use in economic analysis and inspections, as well as the provision of information for management decisions. The purpose of the article is to reveal the practical importance of modernized financial statements for its users and to identify areas for effective use of financial statements for timely management decisions in the budgetary institution. The methodological and informational basis of the work is scientific works, materials of periodicals, Internet resources. Scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization were used in the study. The article examines the results and implementation of national accounting standards in the public sector, which are relevant to the formation of financial statements: International Public Sector Accounting Standards 101, 124, 135. The results of the study formulated differences that arise during the formation of financial and budgetary reporting, which as a result of compilation must be agreed in the institution. The shortcomings of methodological nature that cause differences in the interpretation of the articles of the financial statements and the current chart of accounts are analyzed. The article summarizes the results of a study on the theoretical and methodological foundations of modernization of accounting in the public sector. As a result of the research, the practical importance of forming financial statements according to the current accounting standards for budgetary institutions was revealed. Modernized financial reporting allows budgetary institutions to improve the quality of information for external and internal users, to be full participants in the processes in the international economic space. The article analyzes the problematic issues of modernized reporting of budgetary institutions, the main of which is the difficulty in agreeing between financial statements according to current standards and budget reporting of the public sector. It is proposed, as a supplement to the reporting of budgetary institutions, the gradual introduction of non-financial reporting on current indicators in the world: environmental and social. Proposed as a direction for further research, the use of management reporting. It is recommended to develop and implement management reporting, especially in the field of public finance, which requires constant analysis of financial indicators and operational management decisions at various levels of budgetary institutions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document